Philip Hammond’s November 2018 Budget had some good news for the hospitality sector:
Nonetheless, if the economic growth forecasts set out in the Budget are correct, it suggests that the hospitality industry – like other UK based businesses – will find the landscape challenging for some years to come.
Against that background there will be increased pressure on the Chancellor in next year’s Budget to re-consider the old chestnut of whether it is fair that the hospitality sector should suffer the full force of the UK’s 20% VAT rate when a reduced rate of VAT is payable in many other countries (often below 10% – see, for example, Germany’s 7% rate and Portugal’s 6% rate for hotel accommodation).