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Closed Reduce VAT for small businesses in the hospitality sector to 5%

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The COVID19 pandemic is affecting the food service sector. There will be losses of jobs and income and ultimately small businesses will close.

For businesses to endure the crisis a reduction in the VAT will allow the redistribution of business revenue into staff wages, rent, and lower sale prices

In 2015 the British Hospitality Association reported that the UK hospitality industry paid £41 billion in tax with approximately half being VAT.

That same year the industry employed 2.9 million people, with 1.5 million working in restaurants. It is impossible to know how many will lose jobs in the short term.

Eventually the industry will need to recover and return to 'normal'. The lower tax rate will benefit not just the small business owners but the staff they employ and the consumer.

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    Because of the large number of petitions that we continue to receive on coronavirus we have sent more questions to the Government to answer.

    Read our letters to different Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/

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    We’ll email you again to let you know when we get a response to these questions, and to let you know about any more action the Committee takes.

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    Further information

    You can read impartial House of Commons Library information about coronavirus here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/

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    https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
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    You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

  • Petition published

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    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

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    This petition will stay open until 25 September 2020.