WETHERSPOONS will slash prices by 7.5% for one day only this month to protest hospitality tax rates.
The pub chain said customers can enjoyed discounted food and booze at its 870 pubs to mark Tax Equality Day on September 23.
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The move is designed to highlight the benefits of a permanently reduced tax bill for the pub industry.
Pubs and restaurants usually pay 20% VAT but they are currently paying a reduced rate of 5% as part of measures to help the industry survive the pandemic.
The VAT rate is set to increase to 12.5% at the end of this month before returning in stages to 20% by 2022.
However, ‘Spoons boss Tim Martin has argued for the tax to be kept at 5% to help pubs fight against big supermarket chains.
He has claimed that the higher rate for pubs puts supermarkets at an unfair advantage.
Grocers they don’t pay VAT on food and so can pass that saving onto customers by selling discounted booze.
Wetherspoons has previously warned that it will increase prices by 50p when VAT increases from October 1.
Wetherspoons’ chairman Tim Martin said: “Taxes should be fair and equitable.
“However, it is unfair that supermarkets pay zero VAT on food, but pubs and restaurants, in normal circumstances, pay 20%.
“Pubs have been under fantastic pressure for decades, owing to the tax disadvantages which they have with supermarkets.
“Customers in our pubs on Tax Equality Day will find that the price of their food and drinks will be lower than normal.”
The discount will not apply to alcohol in Scotland due to licensing regulations.
It also excludes airports and the Republic of Ireland.
A large breakfast is usually priced at around £6.10, but on September 23 this would be £5.64 with 46p off.
The price of beer varies across the country, but a £3.50 pint would be reduced to £3.24.
Over the summer the pub has been selling guest ales from local breweries for £1.99 a pint to celebrate being able to reopen fully.
It launched a pre-lockdown beer sale last November, selling real ale pints for just 99p before month-long restrictions were imposed.
We previously revealed how Wetherspoons keeps its drinks so cheap – from pouring the perfect pint to creating an easy bar set up.
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