Hucknall Brewery hoping the government doesn't go through with tax changes that could cost them up to £40k a year

A Hucknall Brewery is looking for the government to backtrack on plans to change the Small Breweries' Relief.

The Small Breweries' Relief (SBR) is a scheme under which small brewers pay a proportionate amount of beer duty compared to Global companies. It effectively levels the playing field to allow smaller companies to compete in a crowded market.

According to the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA): "Currently the UK's smallest breweries pay 50% of the duty if they produce less than 5,000 hectolitres (hl) per annum, which is the equivalent of 900,000 pints or enough beer to fully stock 15 pubs for a year. Under new Treasury proposals, this 50% threshold will be reduced to 2,100hl, meaning that around 150 small breweries will have to contribute more in taxation to the Government."

It has been exactly a year since these proposals were first tabled but they are yet to be finalised and an introduction date is yet to be given, leaving huge uncertainty hanging over small local breweries up and down the country.

Lincoln Green Brewery, based on Wigwam Lane in Hucknall, produced roughly 3000 hl of beer a year pre-pandemic and estimate that these changes would cost them anywhere from £20,000 to £40,000 a year.

They are now calling on Sherwood MP Mark Spencer to intervene.

Anthony Hughes, founder of Lincoln Green Brewery, said: "I have written to Mark Spencer on many occasions about this and I do get a sense that he has a great deal of sympathy for us. I genuinely hope that he does have a conversation with the Chancellor, on behalf of the 150 brewers, and helps to right the wrong decision that was made last year."

Mr Hughes is concerned that the timing of the alterations to SBR, just as breweries are looking to recover following the pandemic related restrictions, will hurt businesses further.

He said: "Breweries, throughout the pandemic, received very little in the way of support. A lot of hospitality businesses got, quite rightly, a lot of support because they were closed down but obviously for breweries, hospitality is our primary market, so when it was closed down you effectively closed down the brewing industry at the same time.

"What we've now got is an increase of a tax that's coming in right at the point where brewers are trying to recover and get back on their feet. The market's going to take some real time to get back to where it was in 2019; to then throw even more tax at small businesses is really not helpful at this time, that's why we're asking the Chancellor to reconsider the decision that was made in July last year.

"The real kick in the teeth is that what's happening is the smaller brewers are paying for reductions in beer duty for the larger brewers. It has been nicknamed the reverse Robin Hood tax, because you're robbing from the poor to give to the rich."

The brewery, named after the colour synonymous with the outlaw, being stung by a tax opposite to the principles he allegedly stood for, is a cruel irony that adds insult to injury.