MERSEYSIDE MPs yesterday increased the pressure on Alistair Darling to axe his beer tax in next week’s Budget.
They warned that the planned 3p a pint extra levy, two points above inflation for the next two years, will accelerate pub closures now running at 39 a week nationwide.
And they claimed that a tax freeze will benefit everyone, including the Treasury, because last year’s 18% increase led to falling sales and a cut in revenue for the Government.
Wirral South’s Ben Chapman added: “To add to the price of a pint is, in my view, completely ridiculous.”
Over the last four years, over 170 pubs and bars have shut across Merseyside, 48 of them in Liverpool city centre.
Last week, the city’s waterfront bars went into administration and Premium Bars are under notice from their bankers.
A new poll of MPs found that 59% of all MPs oppose another hike in beer tax, including 41% of Labour backbenchers.
