Nottingham police have called for a 'booze tax' to be introduced in Nottingham to pay for the extra policing costs in the early-hours when they say most incidents occur.
The Late Night Levy is due to go before Parliament in October and it will be up to individual local licensing authorities whether they apply it or not. The Levy will be set on band basis between £299 and up to £4,440 a year on any business that sells alcohol between midnight and 6am. 70% of funds raised by the tax go to the police and 30% will go to the local authority.
Currently around 20 pubs in the Notts region close every day and businesses say they will have to pass the extra cost on to customers.
This is Nottingham quotes a spokesperson from JD Weatherspoons as saying - "We do not believe that we should pay a late night levy. Wetherspoon pays hundreds of millions of pounds in tax and rates".
Labour Councillor, Alex Norris, said - "Our two primary concerns are, firstly, to make sure our city is safe at night and secondly, that we protect local businesses and jobs," he said".
How enlightening Mr Norris.
