![\"Dougal](\"https:\/\/dailybusinessgroup.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dougal-Sharp.png\")
Innis & Gunn founder and master brewer Dougal Sharp has called for tax cuts to avoid pushing the pub trade \u201cto the brink of extinction\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Sharp says pubs are being forced out of business by costs driven by government policy. <\/p>\n
With a \u00a310 pint become a \u2018fixture\u2019, Industry analysis suggests that around a third of the cost is accounted for by taxes alone.<\/p>\n
Mr Sharp says recently introduced measures by the UK and Scottish governments \u2013 such as the 15% non-domestic rates relief in Scotland \u2013 are nowhere near enough. <\/p>\n
According to analysis of government statistics, one pub per day closed in England and Wales during 2025. Figures in Scotland for 2024 show there 56 closures \u2013 one every week \u2013 which is unlikely to have slowed last year, amid growing pressure on the sector.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the biggest drivers of this decline is cost. The cost of going out has become absurd and a lot of that is to do with the costs being imposed on hospitality businesses. Soon enough, the \u00a310 pint will be a fixture of pubs across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recent measures are too little and, for many pubs, too late. Pubs shouldn\u2019t be treated like a convenient cash machine, but like what they are: a national institution.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s the challenge to Westminster and the devolved governments: Cut on-trade duty by 50%. Cut VAT for hospitality to 8%. Cut energy costs 30% by removing net zero charges. And reduce business rates by making the amount payable an affordable percentage of actual turnover.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe outcome we\u2019re aiming for is simple, normal, and frankly not revolutionary: Getting pints below \u00a34, making pub food affordable, and making pubs full, thriving places again. <\/p>\n
\u201cSave the pub, and you save something bigger than a pint. Kill it, and don\u2019t be surprised when the country feels colder, lonelier, and ultimately loses an important part of its identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Sharp, who started his brewing career at Caledonian Brewery 40 years ago and founded Innis & Gunn in 2003, said that he had never known a tougher time for the industry. The brewer currently operates three taprooms in Edinburgh and Glasgow, which employ more than 100 staff.<\/p>\n
He adds\u201d \u201cHospitality in the UK pays full 20% VAT, while many comparable countries back their hospitality industries with a far lower rate on food. Duties on alcohol are among the highest in the world. Then, there\u2019s business rates, which have become a game of political bingo.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn top of that, our energy prices are the most expensive in the developed world and some of the regulation brought in for pubs in recent years has been well-intentioned, but a lot is pure bureaucratic theatre. <\/p>\n
\u201cOf course we want to pay staff fairly, but the rising minimum wage combined with employer National Insurance contributions adds up at a time when many businesses are already stretched. All these things together turn into reduced hours, fewer staff, less training, less investment, and another \u2018To Let\u2019 sign.\u201d<\/p>\n
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