Reader TTS

THE PUB INDUSTRY IS IN DIRE STRAIGHTS AND SOME INDUSTRY BOSSES FEAR THE CHANCELLOR'S TAX HIKES COULD KILL OFF BRITAIN'S BOOZERS AND RESTAURANTS AMID A SURGE IS COSTS RORY POULTER

12:41, 02 Jun 2025Updated 13:01, 02 Jun 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned that her tax hikes could sound the death knell for Britain's pubs and restaurants. The alarm was

sounded as a new survey found a third of hospitality businesses are losing money and facing potential collapse. In a bombshell survey of pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels, more than 60%

said they had already been forced to slash jobs in a desperate bid to stay afloat following a £3.4billion surge in costs since April as result of hikes in tax and the minimum wage. The data,

from UKHospitality, the British Beer & Pub Association, the British Institute of Innkeeping and Hospitality Ulster, paints a bleak picture for a sector already battered by Covid,

inflation and sky-high energy bills. And it is price-conscious customers who are footing the bill, with three-quarters of operators putting up prices to cope with the squeeze - fuelling

concerns over soaring costs on the high street, the Express reports. In a scathing joint statement, the trade groups said: "The government seems to be setting itself up to miss its own

targets with these most recent cost hikes for the hospitality sector. "Jobs are being lost, livelihoods under threat, communities are set to lose precious assets and consumers are

experiencing price rises when wallets are already feeling the pinch." Article continues below Industry bosses blamed Reeves's first Budget in October, which hiked employers'

National Insurance contributions from 13.8 to 15%, cut the threshold from £9,100 to £5,000, increased the national minimum wage and ushered in changes to business rates. The result, they

say, is the most punishing quarter in recent memory, with the share of loss-making businesses jumping by 11 percentage points - the steepest quarterly rise in years They are now pleading for

urgent help: a reversal of the NIC hike, a VAT cut on food and drink in pubs and restaurants, and a proper overhaul of the broken business rates system. The warning comes amid a wider

crisis of confidence in British business. A separate report from the CBI found private sector sentiment is at its weakest since the aftermath of Liz Truss's mini-Budget in 2022. Alpesh

Paleja, deputy chief economist at the CBI, said firms were now looking to Reeves and the Government to take "decisive action to restore business confidence and boost growth". Tim

Martin, chairman of JD Wetherspoon, said his company alone had been hit with a £60million rise in labour costs as a result of the NIC and minimum wage hikes. He has previously warned that

overtaxing pubs and restaurants while supermarkets benefit from cheaper business rates is unfair and damaging to local communities. Article continues below Senior industry figures also wrote

directly to the Chancellor, warning that the changes were "regressive in their impact on lower earners" and risk making "some jobs on minimum wage ... unviable." Despite

the uproar, the Treasury has defended its policy. A spokesman insisted: "We are a pro-business government and we know the vital importance of the hospitality sector to local

communities and the wider economy, which is why we are supporting them with business rates relief, cutting duty on draught pints, capping corporation tax and are protecting the smallest

businesses from the employer national insurance rise, which is helping to fund the NHS." _FOR THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS AND STORIES FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE FROM THE DAILY STAR, SIGN UP FOR

OUR NEWSLETTER BY CLICKING __HERE__._