Andrew Griffiths MP and the Duty Scam

Andrew Griffiths Calls for an extensions of the beer duty freeze!

You can read his comments here:

http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fmcg/mp-calls-for-extension-of-beer-duty-freeze/353091.article

My Response:

More delusional ‘gumph’ from Andrew Griffiths as he attempts to mislead hard working publicans and consumers into thinking a cut in duty will be passed down the line to pubs and beer drinkers. It won’t of course and Griffiths, acting in his role as M for Punch and Enterprise, knows this. Duty is paid at source by the producer. The producer decides whether to pass on a tax concession and of course they don’t. If they are forced into concessions by property owning pub companies – of the likes of zombies such as Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns – then that company retains the benefit and pays it away in debt costs usually overseas to bondholders.  In short, whether it is the treasury or Griffiths’ friends down the BBPA then someone will have their hand in the consumer’s pocket.

Griffiths, MP for Burton,  is far too close to the pubco/brewer mouthpiece; the BBPA, and here once more we see him begging for a tax hand out for his wealthy mates. The BBPA truly is a risible organisation that has sold its soul to serve the interests of large pubcos and defend at all cost the disgraceful beer tie. Griffiths managed to convince the inept George Osborne that a duty cut was good for pubs last time round and not a single penny of it was passed down the line to pubs and consumers. This call for a duty cut extension is round two of the same old scam.