02/06/2026
The UK hospitality industry is facing more pressure than ever.
Not only do restaurants, cafés, pubs and takeaways pay one of the highest VAT rates on cooked food in Europe at 20%, but businesses are also dealing with rising National Insurance contributions, increasing wage costs, and the ongoing additional charges of stupid things like the Business Improvement District (BID) levies we have to fork out for.
Meanwhile, many of our European neighbours support hospitality with reduced VAT rates:🇩🇪 Germany – 7%🇫🇷 France – 10%🇪🇸 Spain – 10%🇮🇹 Italy – 10%🇮🇪 Ireland – 9%
Hospitality is one of the UK's largest employers and a vital part of every local community. Yet many independent businesses are being asked to carry more and more costs while trying to keep prices affordable for customers.
Something has to change if we want our high streets, town centres and local hospitality businesses to thrive.
The hospitality sector has come together to launch – a united campaign and petition calling for hospitality VAT to be reduced from 20% to 10%.
Spearheaded by chef and publican Tom Kerridge, we’re working alongside trade bodies across the sector, such as and , hospitality communities like , and you, businesses across hospitality, to say 10% VAT is fair for hospitality.
Our sector pays too much tax, and VAT is the single biggest lever the Government can pull to support venues, our customers, our high streets and our local communities.
This campaign is for everyone: businesses, customers, waiting staff, chefs, kitchen porters, bar staff, hotel teams, farmers, brewers, suppliers and producers.
Like, sign the petition and share this post – we need your support to reach a million signatures.
Click the link in our bio to sign the petition 👇
https://www.vatstheproblem.co.uk/
