Hospitality VAT campaigner Jacques Borel announces Tax Equality Day
The campaign for lowering the hospitality VAT rate, the VAT Club Jacques Borel, has announced plans to stage a Tax Equality Day on 24 September.
The day will encourage pubs and restaurants to help call for a reduction in hospitality VAT, by lowering their prices by 7.5% for one day only. This will help show the benefits of cutting VAT to 5%, it is claimed.
Pub chain JD Wetherspoon has already announced its intentions to take part, with its chairman Tim Martin stating that Borel was doing an excellent job in highlighting the issues around VAT. He added: "Our aim is to make 24 September our busiest trading day of 2014."
Tax Equality Day follows on from last year's Tax Parity Day, in which the group estimates more than 15,000 pubs and restaurants took part.
The current VAT rate for pubs and restaurants is set at 20%, compared to 0% for supermarkets, and significantly lower rates across Europe.
Jacques Borel said: "Tax Parity Day was an outstanding success and the perfect way to reinforce our message to the public that lower VAT in the hospitality sector will deliver lower prices and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
"Although we have changed the name to Tax Equality Day, the message remains the same. The campaign to reduce VAT is well known amongst the public, policy makers and MPs and a national Tax Equality Day will highlight the support for the VAT cut campaign."