Brewery fights rise in duty
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An independent brewery has been granted leave to bring a judicial review against the Government's decision to raise the duty on beer.
Shepherd Neame, based in Kent, has won the right to a High Court hearing over the planned rise which comes into effect on 1 January. It claims the increase is illegal.
The duty on beer in France is less than one-third of that in Britain and more than a million pints of beer are brought back across the Channel every day.
While the large conglomerate breweries can sustain the loss from cheaper imports, the smaller companies have suffered since the European borders opened.
Stuart Neame, the vice- chairman of the brewery, said that one in every three pints of beer drunk in Kent now comes from Calais and his brewery had been forced to close or sell 45 pubs since 1993.
He added that the rise in duty was against the fundamental principle of the Common Market in which everyone should be able to trade on an equal level and hailed the judge's decision as a landmark ruling. Any duty increase should now be deferred until the High Court has considered the matter.
"Mr Justice Keene has examined the papers, and agreed that we have a case that must be answered," he said.
"For the first time the Government will have to answer in the High Court for its apparent disregard of its obligations under the Treaty of Rome. These clearly state that EU members must work towards the harmonisation of excise duties, and abstain from measures which would jeopardise the Treaty's objectives.
"A judge has now confirmed that we have a valid basis for arguing that the proposed duty increase is illegal."
A spokeswoman for the Treasury said last night that it was a matter for EU member states to make their own decisions on taxation.
"We will be dealing with this vigorously and robustly - we have a cast iron case. We have asked for as expeditious a hearing as possible and we look forward to dealing with the issue speedily," she said.
-- Kate Watson-Smyth
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments