Pub chiefs urge big tax shake-up

PUB bosses led calls yesterday for politicians to promise reforms after a double whammy of higher property taxes and increased wages hit the sector.

They want labour and the Tories to make manifesto pledges to overhaul the business rates they pay on commercial property such as shops and bars.

Industry chiefs said they will be forced to put prices up for customers after rates increased 6.7pc yesterday – costing firms in England an extra £1.7bn.

The minimum wage has also risen to £11.44 an hour from £10.42 for those aged 23 and over and from £10.18 for 21 and 22-year-olds. It was the biggest rise in the minimum wage – or National living Wage as it is known – on record.

The conservatives have pledged to review the business rates system in three manifestos since 2015 but the industry says little has been done.

Kate Nicholls, the boss of trade body UK Hospitality, said: ‘a root- and- branch review needs to be delivered.’

She is spearheading calls for a lower multiplier – the pence per pound rate firms are charged – to be introduced as a first step to alleviate the burden.

and she has been having ‘active and constructive’ chats on the topic with the Shadow cabinet team.

clive chesser, boss of Punch Pubs, said it was ‘unquestionable’ that the pub sector carried a disproportionate burden of tax and urgent change was needed.

‘It is time to move away from a system that is out of date in so many ways, and to adopt fairer taxation systems that promote economic growth and protect our high streets,’ he said.

Simon Dodd, boss of pubs group young’s, said: ‘ It is painfully clear that the current business rates system is in dire need of reform.

‘This is something that must be addressed urgently in manifestos ahead of the upcoming election to secure the long-term futures of businesses and livelihoods across the country.’

Jonathan lawson, chief executive of pub owners liberation Group, said: ‘In my view this is one of the least businessfriendly governments I have worked with.

‘Regarding hospitality, they singularly fail to grasp the contribution our industry makes to economic growth and employment, and instead give us an unlevel playing field from a taxation point of view and a continued lack of reform regarding business rates.’

Earlier this year, Marks & Spencer chief Stuart Machin claimed doing business in Britain is ‘like running up a downwards escalator with a rucksack on your back’.

The Government said it has extended relief that means around 230,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties will receive 75pc off bills for this year. But firms say this just kicks the can down the line until a cliff edge in april 2025.