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THE boss of a major pub chain has warned the cost of its pints will rise following the Government's Budget.

Chief executive officer of Fuller's, Simon Emeny, told The Sun the price of beers at its hotels and boozers would likely rise by 10p after the Government hiked employer National Insurance contributions (NICs).

Simon Emeny has warned the cost of a pint will go up by 10p
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Simon Emeny has warned the cost of a pint will go up by 10pCredit: Paul Rogers - The Times

The top boss of the brewing giant slammed the decision to hike NICs as "counter productive to growth" and "hurting young employment".

Mr Emeny said Fuller's, which employs 5,500 staff, expected the Government to hike the National Living Wage last month, but it had not anticipated an increase to employer NICs.

Mr Emeny said: "I don’t think these tax increases have been thought through.

"The impact is disproportionate on businesses that particularly employ younger workers."

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The Government hiked employer NICs last month after committing to not raising taxes for "working" people.

But concerns have been raised that workers will still be impacted by the rise, as businesses let staff go, cut wages or increase the price of products to cover their added costs.

Mr Emeny added: "We will see prices go up, which is counter-productive for a Government that had said it was pro growth.

"It will lead businesses to review their investment plans."

When asked about analyst estimates that the cost of a pint will go up between 5p and 40p, Mr Emeny said: "It won’t be as low as 5p.

"The increase across the industry will be more than 10p."

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Despite the Budget woes, Fuller's posted pre-tax profits of £17.6million in the six months to September 28.

Mr Emeny said a boost from Taylor Swift's sell-out concerts at Wembley over the summer helped drive sales at its hotels and pubs.

With Oasis and Coldplay concerts lined up for next year, he said: “We expect an even stronger summer in 2025.”

The comments from Mr Emeny come after Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin warned of price rises at its boozers following the decision to hike employer NICs.

The pub's chairman said it would try to stay competitive on costs for customers but the whole hospitality industry was facing the same pressures.

Mr Martin said the chain's tax bill is expected to go up by two thirds next year.

Mr Martin added: "Cost inflation, which had surged to high levels in 2022, gradually diminished over the subsequent two years.

"However, it has now significantly increased again following the budget.

"All hospitality businesses, we believe, plan to increase prices, as a result.

"Wetherspoon will, as always, make every attempt to stay as competitive as possible."

Some of the UK's biggest supermarkets and retailers have also said they may have to bump up prices as they come under pressure.

Asda chairman Stuart Rose said the hike in NICs would cost the supermarket around £100million and lead to price increases at checkouts.

Meanwhile, M&S chief executive Stuart Machin has cautioned it is looking at a £120million hit and Sainsbury's boss Simon Roberts said it was looking at a £140million hole.

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The chief executive of Primark's parent company Associated British Foods George Weston also said he "felt the weight of tax rises" in the Budget was falling on the UK high street.

He said the company’s National Insurance bill would rise by “tens of millions” of pounds, but it would try to “hold prices”.

What is National Insurance?

NATIONAL Insurance is a tax on your earnings, or profits if you're self-employed.

These contributions make you eligible for things like the state pension and certain benefits.

You'll usually pay National Insurance Contributions (NICs) when you're over the age of 16 and earning a certain amount.

For example, if you earn £1,000 a week, you pay nothing on the first £242.

Earn over that and you pay 10% on the next £725 - so £72.50. Then you pay 2% on the rest, so £33, which works out as 66p.

For the self-employed rates are slightly different.

You can also get something known as National Insurance in some circumstances when you're not working, for example when you have kids and claim certain benefits.

NICs are usually taken automatically by your employer and paid to HMRC, so you don't need to do anything.

You can see how much NICs you pay on your wage slip.

Anyone working for themselves usually has to pay NICs themselves when completing a self-assessment tax return.

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