Tax

OPINION

Sector’s hopes snuffed out as Chancellor fails to understand pub reality

06-Mar-2024 By Ed Bedington

It was a faint hope, but still cruelly dashed as the chancellor stood at the dispatch box and showed his fundamental lack of understanding of the pub sector.

'I'm flabbergasted at interest rates'

02-Feb-2024 By Ed Bedington

The MA's Ed Bedington caught up with Camerons boss Chris Soley to get his take on the week's news, from government debate to interest rates and pub closures.

Review of the Week

'We need to go to war on VAT'

05-Jan-2024 By Ed Bedington

The MA's Ed Bedington met up with Oakman Group's Peter Borg-Neal to get his take on the week's news, from a knighthood for Sir Tim through to closures and Christmas trade.

The Lock In Podcast

Will pubs get the support they need?

10-Oct-2022 By Ed Bedington

The podcast team returns for season three of the award-winning (James's mum gave us a rosette) Lock In podcast and we get to grips with the challenges facing the sector.

JDW boss reiterates calls for tax equality

22-Aug-2022 By Nikkie Thatcher

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) chairman Tim Martin has repeated his calls for pubs to have tax equality with supermarkets in order to “survive and thrive in the future”.

Alcohol duty reform delay ‘extremely disappointing’

21-Jul-2022 By Nikkie Thatcher

Trade bodies have reacted to the Government’s announcement of delays to the next stages of the alcohol duty reform system

The MA's Review of the Week

'Tax relief can help hospitality businesses to reinvest'

01-Jul-2022 By Ed Bedington

Owner of the Veeno wine bar business, Rodrigue Trouillet shared his thoughts on the weeks news with the MA's Ed Bedington, from tax relief to the ongoing recruitment challenges.

JDW repeats call for tax equality between pubs and supermarkets

14-Jun-2022 By Nikkie Thatcher

Pub behemoth JD Wetherspoon has reiterated its request to the Government that tax between the on and off-trade is equal.

UKH and BBPA call for online sales tax

20-May-2022 By Rebecca Weller

UKHospitality (UKH) and the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) have shown support for the Government’s proposed online sales tax but warned the sector must be given due consideration to level the playing field and avoid double-taxation.

BBPA welcomes consultation into online sales tax

28-Feb-2022 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has welcomed the Government’s decision to launch a consultation into an online sales tax.

Triple whammy of costs will ‘inevitably result in price rises’

01-Feb-2022 By Nikkie Thatcher

Government reforms to the alcohol duty system have been welcomed by one trade body alongside warnings for further changes ahead of a “triple whammy of costs” for the sector.

opinion

'Pubs are now the sickly child of the high street'

01-Nov-2021 By Gav Young, the Plough and Barleycorn, Isle of Wight

So the red tops are awash with pictures of Boris and Rishi holding pints aloft as they declare not only a duty freeze but a 3p reduction, of course there is much small print including the cut not coming into force until 2023 or, indeed, on kegs under...

'Leave us alone, let us come back and stabilise'

25-Oct-2021 By Rebecca Weller

One licensee has urged the Government to let the hospitality sector recover and grow ahead of the Autumn Budget.

Jodie Kidd calls on Government to save 20,000 at-risk pubs

21-Oct-2021 By Rebecca Weller

Publican, model and former racer Jodie has called on the Government to reform tax burden for pubs by lowering VAT, beer duty and business rates ahead of the Autumn Budget on next week (27 October).

Opinion

'A duty cut would do nothing to help pubs'

21-Oct-2021 By Gav Young, the Plough and Barleycorn, Isle of Wight

It is no coincidence the biggest voices in the ‘cut the duty’ campaign are the big brewers. With duty at around 52p per pint it is a massive proportion of the value of a pint at the brewery gate, far more so than it is of a pint on the bar in the pub....

Increasing VAT to 20% will mean significant price hike, says UKH boss

11-Oct-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Putting the VAT rate back up to 20% next March will mean operators could be forced to push prices up, UKHospitality (UKH) chief executive Kate Nicholls has warned.

Campaign to call for permanent 12.5% VAT launched

07-Oct-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

A campaign, urging Chancellor Rishi Sunak to keep the 12.5% VAT rate beyond March next year has been launched by trade body UKHospitality (UKH).

Price of a pint could rise by 25p predicts Sacha Lord

20-Sep-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Night-time economy adviser and operator Sacha Lord estimated prices of drinks will go up by between 7% and 10% with the average price of a pint set to rise by 25p, in line with the 7.5% VAT increase to cover the overall losses felt by operators.

End of tax year could be a hammer blow for trade

17-Sep-2021 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser's editor Ed Bedington spoke to Pelle Pub Co's Hayley Pellegrini to get her take on the headlines of the past week.

NI hike 'a kick in the teeth'

10-Sep-2021 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser spoke to multiple pub boss Dianne Irving of Drouth Ltd on the headlines of the week.

SBR changes leaves small brewers in limbo

21-Jul-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Small independent brewers in the UK have been left in limbo, a year on from the Treasury’s changes to Small Breweries’ Relief (SBR), one trade body has warned.

JDW to increase food prices by 40p per meal

07-Jul-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Pub behemoth JD Wetherspoon will be increasing the price of its food by 40p per meal when the VAT rate increases to 12.5% later this year, it announced in a trading update.

Slash beer duty by 50% to boost pubs, Chancellor told

19-May-2021 By Emily Hawkins

Pub and brewing trade bodies have called on the Chancellor to slash draught beer duty in order to help pubs recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Reduce tax burden on pubs to boost recovery, think-tank urges

09-Mar-2021 By Emily Hawkins

The Government should support the pub sector’s recovery by slashing taxes and providing top-up grant support, a new report has claimed.

The Lock In Podcast

The Lock In Podcast: Budget - bonus or bust?

04-Mar-2021 By Ed Bedington

The budget has been revealed, some would say before the budget was revealed, and the podcast team give their reaction to the Chancellor's hand outs and what it means for their businesses and wider hospitality. We also get some more considered analysis...

Spring Budget 2021

‘Pragmatic steps’ but far from ‘whatever it takes’

04-Mar-2021 By Stuart Stone

What impact will Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s latest Budget have on the pub sector as it navigates the Government’s post-lockdown roadmap?

Hospitality sector ‘remains utmost in Chancellor’s mind’

02-Mar-2021 By Nikkie Thatcher

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has said the hospitality trade ‘remains utmost’ in his mind, in an interview on Times Radio.

MA’s review of the week

Pubs need ‘early warning' from Government over post-lockdown tiers

13-Nov-2020 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser's Ed Bedington spoke to Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin of Cheshire Cat Pubs and Bars to discuss the big issues from the news this week.

Alcohol Duty Review evidence call welcomed by trade

02-Oct-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

The Government’s launch of the Alcohol Duty Review call for evidence has been welcomed by trade bodies.

Winter Economy Plan

VAT cut extension ‘misses golden opportunity to include alcohol’

24-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

The Chancellor’s announcement of an extension of the 15% VAT cut on food, soft drinks and accommodation has been criticised for excluding wet-led pubs.

85% of hospitality operators not passing on VAT cut to customers

23-Jul-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Most operators in hospitality will not be passing on the discounted rate of VAT on food and soft drinks to guests, new research has revealed.

Alcohol duty review appreciated but calls made for further support

22-Jul-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

The Government’s announcement that it will be launching a review into alcohol duty has been met with optimism from trade bodies alongside calls for more help for the beer and pub sectors to bounce back from the coronavirus crisis.

Alcohol tax review proposal ‘good first step’

08-Nov-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Pub trade bodies have welcomed an announcement from the Conservative Party that it would review alcohol taxation if elected again.

Tax for online companies ‘must be used to help pubs’

01-Nov-2019 By Emily Hawkins

A digital services tax will not be enough to solve the pub sector’s problems on its own, operators have said.

St Austell backs Long Live the Local with red brew

08-Aug-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Cornwall’s St Austell Brewery has put its support behind the Long Live the Local campaign with the release of a special-edition beer.

AUTUMN BUDGET 2018

Digital tax welcome news to industry

30-Oct-2018 By Emily Hawkins

Industry chiefs have welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement of a new digital tax on UK revenues of large technology companies.

Budget puts 625,000 hospitality jobs at risk

26-Oct-2018 By Nicholas Robinson

More than half-a-million hospitality jobs will be at risk if the Government doesn’t take urgent action on business taxation, UKHospitality has cautioned.

Businessman evaded tax payments of more than £180,000

01-Oct-2018 By Emily Hawkins

A man has received a prison sentence for evading tax bills of more than £180,000 for a Loughborough bar and restaurant.

Pubco liquidated over £360,000 tax debt

28-Aug-2018 By Emily Hawkins

Birmingham-based The Humble Pub Company has entered liquidation after facing tax debts in excess of £360,000.

Government moves forward with plastic tax

20-Aug-2018 By Emily Hawkins

The Government will move forward with suggestions to use taxes to reduce wasteful single-use plastics, after a Treasury consultation found strong public support.

North-east landlords blame cheap alcohol for industry woes

16-Aug-2018 By Emily Hawkins

Landlords in the north-east have said cheap alcohol sold by supermarkets is to blame for pub closures in the region.

Support for tax on digital businesses

10-Aug-2018 By Emily Hawkins

Trade organisation UKHospitality has said it hopes the Government will follow through on its suggestion that it might introduce a tax on digital businesses.

ALMR refutes reports pubs 'pay less than £1m a year towards policing'

04-Jan-2018 By Georgina Townshend

Reports that pubs "pay less than £1m a year towards policing" have been blasted as industry leaders claim that in reality they pay more than £20bn a year in taxes which "fund vital services".

MPs demand ‘Budget for pubs’ to stop more calling time

13-Nov-2017 By Claire Churchard

Fifty MPs have written a joint letter to the Chancellor urging him to slash the massive tax burden that is contributing to pub closures across the UK.

JDW tax drop provides significant sales boost

22-Sep-2017 By Nikkie Sutton

Pub giant JD Wetherspoon (JDW) saw like-for-like volume sales rise by 17% on Tax Equality Day, a day when the pubco dropped its prices by 7.5% to highlight the benefit of a VAT reduction in the trade.

BBPA slams proposals for Tower Hamlets late-night levy

28-Jun-2017 By Fred A'Court

Controversial proposals for a late-night levy (LNL) in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets have again been slammed by the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA).

2017 Predictions

2017 Predictions: BII says there is no doubt the year ahead will be tough

20-Dec-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) CEO Mike Clist has told The Morning Advertiser there is no doubt 2017 will be a tough year for the sector.

BBPA

2017 Predictions: Simmonds says next year to be dominated by Brexit

12-Dec-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

The British Beer & Pub Association chief executive Brigid Simmonds has said Brexit and its consequences will be the challenge for the sector next year.

Late-night levy

Licensing changes slammed amid fears of late-night levy expansion

26-Sep-2016 By Oli Gross

Proposed changes to licensing laws have been slammed as fears grow that late-night levies will increasingly become a first port of call for local councils.

Sugar tax 'won’t solve UK obesity crisis'

16-Aug-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

A coalition representing thousands of small businesses has called on the Government with a new campaign to ditch former Chancellor George Osborne’s tax on soft drinks.