Multiple UK Pubs Cut Prices to Highlight VAT Inequality on Tax Equality Day

Several Wetherspoon pubs across the UK, including locations in Great Yarmouth, Doncaster, Barry, Ayrshire, and Cwmbran, will reduce their food and drink prices by 7.5 percent on September 18 to mark Tax Equality Day and highlight the need for a permanent VAT reduction in the hospitality sector. Currently, pubs pay 20 percent VAT on all food and drink, while supermarkets pay zero VAT on food, allowing them to subsidize alcohol prices and create a competitive disadvantage for pubs. Pub managers emphasized that this tax disparity has placed significant pressure on the hospitality industry for decades and called for the Chancellor to reduce VAT to 12.5 percent to ensure pubs can thrive. The one-day price cuts demonstrate how customers would save money with a lower VAT rate, paying £9.25 instead of £10 for every £10 spent. This coordinated effort aims to raise public awareness and urge government action for tax equality between pubs and supermarkets. Wetherspoon continues to advocate for policy changes to support the hospitality industry's sustainability.