If the govt are going to bring in this measure to stop sales of super-cheap off-licence booze, it's only fair there should be some kind of tax break for on-licence sales.
The last thing they're going to do is give pubs any reason to make booze cheaper, as (IMO) the picture they paint of the binge drinking culture/problem is that of people spilling out of pubs at closing time and causing mayhem on the streets, something quite apart from the ASBO crew drinking down a lane or whatever (which really should be solvable with smart community policing). It'd be nice to think that tax breaks would mean pubs keeping the same prices but taking home more money, but it'd inevitably lead to further price cuts being such a competitive business.
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As the manager of a small business (one of two shops when I took on the job three years ago aged 19, we're now two and a half shops, if that makes any sense), the recession has made life very difficult. Two shop moves in a year due to both the recession and changes in shopping habits in Glasgow, being paid late for many months, having problems with suppliers due to cash flow problems (particularly Nike and Adidas, who despite their marketing are only in the skateboard footwear business for the money, surprise surprise), it's been very very hard as we're right at the bottom of the trickle down effect the credit crunch and subsequent recession has had on people's income. The fact of the matter is that the recession has affected pretty much everyone, and even if people are still on the same salary/wage, taking home the same pay packet at the end of the month, the constant fearmongering in the media has made people a lot more careful with their money. Unfortunately that affects shops such as ourselves more than anyone on the high street, because we can't offset one store's losses with the profits of 10 others. If both shops have a shit month, it gets very stressful very quickly.
That said, we are through the worst of it and I'm glad to have been a part of pulling us through. I've worked hard over the last 3 years to bring the Glasgow shop from a real shit position to being the main earner for the company, and it has been a valuable learning experience that'll prove useful in whatever I go on to do after I'm finished with this job. Hopefully with the launch of a new website later this year, that'll help to keep money coming in even when the shops are having a shit time of it, and make life a bit easier for everyone in the company.