Brown restricts tax rises to wine and beer
Chancellor Gordon Brown has put a penny on a pint of beer and 4p on a bottle of wine in what is believed to be the last budget before the General Election.
Duties on cider, sparkling wine, and spirits have been frozen, but the cost of a pack of cigarettes will rise by 7p.
The chancellor's decision to target beer met with criticism from the Campaign for Real Ale.
Chief executive Mark Benner said: "A penny might not sound like much, but today's tax rise follows wholesale beer price rises by some brewers. Some pubs will now be charging as much as 10p a pint more than they were only a month ago."
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Brown: taxing drinkers |