UK beer tax closes down 2,000 pubs, costs 20,000 jobs.

From the Guardian:

A record 2,000 British pubs have closed with the loss of 20,000 jobs since the chancellor, Alistair Darling, increased beer tax in the 2008 budget, new figures published by the British Beer and Pub Association reveal today.

The figures came alongside a separate forecast by Oxford Economics that 75,000 more jobs in the drinks industry are at risk. The finding is based on the impact of last year's 18% increase in excise duty and the implications of the four-year drinks tax escalator.

The two beer tax increases placed an additional £520m cost burden on the sector, the data show.

Publication of the new figures comes on the day that five ministers are due to be questioned on the issue by MPs at a Commons emergency summit.