Chancellor Rishi Sunak announces drastic VAT cuts for the whole hospitality industry until January 12

8 July 2020, 13:28 | Updated: 8 July 2020, 16:06

By Mared Parry

@maredparry

This new move will reduce costs for businesses that were hit particularly hard during lockdown, such as restaurants, bars, hotels and theme parks.

Rishi Sunak has just announced that the Government will now recuse VAT drastically for certain affected sectors of the economy.

The hospitality sector has been particularly affected by the restrictions lockdown brought, and the Charnellor has announced a cut on food, accommodation and attractions' VAT.

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Sunak stated in Commons earlier today that "VAT will be reduced, from next Wednesday until January 12th, from 20% to 5%".

"The best thing we can do is to restart these sectors and get our pubs, restaurants, cafe and B&B's bustling again," he added.

The chancellor announced two new measures to protect jobs.

He continued: "VAT for hospitality and tourism is charged at 20 per cent, so for the next six months, I have decided to cut that on food, accommodation and attractions.

Eat in or hot takeaway food from cafes, bars and restaurants, accommodation such as hotels, B&Bs and caravan sites, and attractions like cinemas and zoos will see that reduced from next Wednesday to January 12th from 20 per cent to 5 per cent."