Top UK chefs call for cutting VAT for pubs and restaurants to 10%
Leading British chefs, including Tom Kerridge and Heston Blumenthal, have called on the UK government to cut value-added tax for pubs and restaurants from 20 percent to 10 percent, BBC reports. The hospitality industry is struggling with energy and labour costs and warns of an accelerating wave of closures.
BBC BusinessLeading British chefs, including Tom Kerridge, Heston Blumenthal and Angela Hartnett, have sent an open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves asking her to cut value-added tax on pubs and restaurants from 20 percent to 10 percent. The letter cites the loss of 13,000 venues in the past four years and warns that 28 percent of small operators face possible closure in the next six months.
Figures from UK Hospitality suggest the Treasury could lose 1.2 billion pounds in annual revenue from the cut, but the industry argues that additional employment and an expanded VAT base would close the gap within two years. A Treasury spokesperson said the proposal 'would be examined carefully,' adding that the autumn budget in October would be the decisive moment for the discussion.
Capital Economics analyst Paul Dales, based in London, said the call opened 'politically convenient space for short-term support' and could influence Bank of England deliberations ahead of the August rate meeting. Industry representatives pointed to Germany's 7-percent hospitality VAT as a reference and pressed the government to act no later than the autumn statement.
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