The popular pub chain will be cutting prices by 7.5% on Thursday, September 12 to mark Tax Equality Day and the discounts will be seen at all Wetherspoon pubs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Wetherspoon will be slashing prices across both food and drinks for one day across its hundreds of venues.
The popular pub chain will be cutting prices by 7.5% on Thursday, September 12 to mark Tax Equality Day. The discounts will be seen at all Wetherspoon pubs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, discounts will only apply to food and non-alcoholic drinks, this is due to Scottish licensing laws.
The promotion at the pub chain aims to highlight the benefit of a permanent VAT reduction in the hospitality industry. Normally, all food and drinks in pubs are subject to 20% VAT. In comparison, supermarkets pay zero VAT on food. The Wetherspoon boss says supermarkets can then use these savings to “sell alcohol to customers at a discounted price”.
Tim Martin is a big supporter of cutting VAT and says the “vast disparity in tax treatment” among pubs, restaurants and supermarkets is one of the “biggest threats” to the hospitality industry. In September, you could get a large Spoons breakfast, which normally costs around £9.99, for £9.25 giving you a saving of 74p.
A breakfast wrap, normally priced at £6.21, would cost £5.75, so a saving of 46p. A pint of Bud Light, usually priced at around £4.42, would cost you £4.09 and a 500ml bottle of Kopparberg cider, usually priced at £5.64, would cost £5.22 on the day. It’s always important to remember that prices at Wetherspoon pubs vary across the UK, so you won’t always get the same discount. If you want to find your nearest pub, you can use the locator tool on the Wetherspoon website or app.
Tim Martin said: “Pubs have been under fantastic pressure for decades, because of the tax disadvantages which they have with supermarkets. It doesn’t make sense for the hospitality industry to subsidise supermarkets.
“A VAT cut to 12.5% is needed to ensure that pubs, bars and restaurants do not continue to close, but instead thrive, invest and create new jobs. Customers coming to Wetherspoon’s pubs on Thursday 12 September will find the price of their food and drinks to be lower than normal. We call on the chancellor to create tax equality between the hospitality industry and supermarkets.”
