And three. The new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has made purchasing power a priority, announced, Thursday July 23, a 20% reduction in the business tax for pubs, nightclubs and concert venues in England, a measure however below what this struggling sector is demanding.
This is the third measure announced in three days by the new Labor leader, who succeeded the resigning Keir Starmer on Monday by promising to give the British a little “breathing space” and to lower the cost of living.
The first measure was the removal of VAT on household electricity next winter, the second concerned the reinstatement of a cap of 2 pounds (2.35 euros) on bus fares in England from January.
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The tax boost announced on Thursday is expected to save around 32,000 businesses around 1,100 pounds (1,300 euros) a year. However, it will not apply to larger concert halls.
“I will not stand idly by while these places we hold dear disappear, replaced by boarded up storefronts and ‘For Sale’ signs,” Andy Burnham wrote on X.
The government has indicated that it will finance this measure, which will cost 100 million pounds per year, in particular through a review of taxation on businesses “which do not make a positive contribution” such as electronic cigarette stores.
120 millionaires ask to pay more taxes
Ian Hoskins, owner of the Ma Pub Group which has several outlets in Liverpool, welcomed the announcement but told Sky News it was “just a drop in the ocean”.
According to him, the main help that the government could provide would consist of fundamentally overhauling the professional tax and allowing households to have more “money in their pockets” to be able to spend it.
The country’s iconic pubs are closing at a rate of around one per day, according to the British Beer and Pub Association. Like the entire hotel and catering sector, they are facing a sharp increase in costs, particularly energy bills.
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The conservative opposition called on Andy Burnham to clearly explain how he intended to finance this measure, which is scheduled to come into force in April 2027.
In a letter to the new prime minister, some 120 UK-based millionaires, including former footballer and star presenter Gary Lineker, called for more tax.
“We can afford it,” write the members of this group, “Patriotic Millionaires UK”, asserting that a tax increase for the highest incomes could bring in around 24 billion pounds.
With AFP
