05/12/2025
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👇🏼 This
Next year I fear so many of us small hospitality businesses will have no choice but to close our doors. It’s just getting harder & harder and quite frankly - it’s exhausting fighting what feels like a losing battle.
Most people don’t realise how unfair the VAT system is in hospitality.
Let’s take eggs as an example - I buy my eggs in which are zero rated for VAT purposes - The second I crack that egg on my griddle, the government takes 20% VAT from the final product — with nothing for me to reclaim.
I buy in my flour, sugar, butter - all zero rated. The minute I bake a cake with those ingredients and someone wants to sit in to eat it - I lose 20% immediately in VAT.
I buy in my coffee beans - zero rated - the minute that coffee is ground into a latte I lose 20%
A builder buys their materials at 20% VAT and can claim it back.
A hairdresser buys their colours, shampoos & scissors at 20% and can claim it back.
Make it make sense!
So when you buy an £8 breakfast from us, £1.33 goes straight to the government before we even cover wages, rent, utilities, rates and food costs.
This system is pushing small cafes, coffee shops and restaurants to the edge.
We don’t want special treatment — just a fairer, modern VAT structure for hospitality.
