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Wetherspoon pubs are slashing the prices of all food and drink for one day this week to highlight the tax burden on the hospitality industry.
The chain will slash prices in pubs across the UK and Ireland by 7.5% on Thursday.
This means that, for example, a customer spending £10 on food and drink will only pay £9.25 for one day.
The move is being made to mark Tax Equality Day, which will highlight the benefits of a permanent VAT cut on pubs and restaurants across the UK.
In line with Scottish licensing laws, prices on food and non-alcoholic drinks will be reduced in Scotland.
Weatherspoon said he wanted to highlight the “huge disparity” in the way pubs and restaurants are taxed compared to supermarkets.
The group’s founder and chairman, Tim Martin, said: “The biggest threat to the hospitality industry is the huge disparity in tax treatment between pubs, restaurants and supermarkets.
“Supermarkets pay zero VAT in relation to food sales, while pubs and restaurants pay 20%.
“This tax benefit allows supermarkets to subsidize the selling price of beer.
“Pubs have been under severe pressure for decades due to tax losses from supermarkets.”
This means the hospitality industry is subsidizing supermarkets because of the tax rules, Mr Martin argued.
“We urge the Chancellor to create tax parity between pubs and supermarkets,” he added.
Weatherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin said tax inequality is the ‘biggest threat to the hospitality industry’ (Dominik Lipinski/PA)
Mr Martin has been vocal on the issue before, arguing that the low price of beer in supermarkets has put some consumers off picking up a pint at their local pub.
He also accused some senior politicians of a “lack of understanding” on inflation and pointed out how higher costs are adding to the pressure on the sector.
As of July, Wetherspoon runs 827 pubs in the UK and Ireland. It is set to report record total sales in its pubs for the latest financial year, thanks to bumper Easter and May bank holiday trading.
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