Save St Albans Pubs have been campaigning for fair taxation on pubs since 2016 following the disastrous Government review of the business rates system in 2017 which saw an average increase of 79% in business rates in St Albans-completely unfair and unaffordable.

Since then, we have had to deal with the worst crisis in our industries history with Brexit, a Global Pandemic and now a 100% rise in energy bills, all leading to unprecedented wholesale costs. Government expectations on our industry to increase wages with all of these issues has led to an average 30% increase cost in 2022 compared to 2019 in St Albans. We need an emergency budget specific to Hospitality and we need it from MARCH 2022.

We need to support our independent pubs, restaurants and cafes and we require URGENT support. 

REDUCE VAT ON ALL HOSPITALITY SALES TO 5%

CANCEL BUSINESS RATES for 24 months whilst a new rates system is implemented.

LEVEL UP PUBS & SUPERMARKETS by creating a new minimum unit price for supermarkets, use the increased taxes to offset the VAT on Hospitality.

Reducing VAT across all sales will not only ensure we can survive further price hikes and increased inflation but it will also mean that we can eventually invest more into our industry and increase the wages of our workforce, something the UK Government is currently prioritising. 

The Business Rates system is outdated and flawed and is crippling pubs and restaurants across the UK, especially the South East. It simply MUST be reformed. Until then, it is unfair and unreasonable for the Government to charge it. We demand it is removed for Hospitality for a minimum 24 month period.

The unfair bulk selling by supermarkets is not only bad for the health of the UK population but it is a key factor in loneliness and early death amongst our local communities across the country. We need to have a fair pricing structure across all alcohol sales so that there is a fair level platform for Hospitality.