Burgess Hill Wetherspoon pub cuts food and drink prices to show benefit of permanent VAT reduction

A Burgess Hill Wetherspoon pub is cutting the price of all food and drink by 7.5 per cent on Thursday (September 23) for one day only.
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Prices at The Six Gold Martlets in Church Walk will be reduced to mark Tax Equality Day, with the discount aiming to show the benefit of a permanent VAT reduction for the hospitality industry

A pint of beer that costs £1.99, for example, will be reduced to £1.84.

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At the moment all food and drink in pubs is subject to five per cent VAT because of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s VAT cut in July last year.

The Six Gold Martlets - JD Wetherspoon in Burgess Hill. Picture: Google Street View.The Six Gold Martlets - JD Wetherspoon in Burgess Hill. Picture: Google Street View.
The Six Gold Martlets - JD Wetherspoon in Burgess Hill. Picture: Google Street View.

This will change on October 1, when the VAT rate rises to 12.5 per cent as the government aims to gradually return VAT to 20 per cent in 2022.

“It is unfair that supermarkets pay zero VAT on food, but pubs and restaurants, in normal circumstances, pay 20 per cent,” said pub manager Kayleigh Pratt.

“Pubs have been under fantastic pressure for decades due to the tax disadvantages they have with supermarkets,” she added.

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Kayleigh said The Six Gold Martlets will have to raise food prices because of the VAT increase, adding that the pub will increase meal prices by 50p next Wednesday (September 29).

“We urge the Chancellor to create tax equality between pubs and supermarkets by making the current VAT regime for pubs permanent,” she said.

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