Pubs could possibly be compelled to cost £25 for fish and chips because of tax hikes

Pub owners are urging the Government to rethink their tax hikes, with warnings pub fish and chips could be raised to £25.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, is due to deliver her new budget plan on October 30. Having recently announced a new proposed bill of workers’ rights, hospitality business owners are feeling worried.

Many pubs, bars and restaurants are facing a potential increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions (NICs) and business rates. They already claim to be struggling and this could push them over the edge, several claim.

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Louise Maclean, from Signature Pubs, spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme about the nightmare she could be facing. “God what’s the point?” she asked.

“It is going to be an absolute quagmire to navigate.” She added that the new impositions on flexible working make it impossible for her to find and keep staff on the rota.

Adding to this, Maclean claimed to be able to cover the cost, businesses would have to again hike their prices or they’d be in the negatives. Maclean gave the dire warning that punters could be expected to pay around £25 for a plate of fish and chips.

She feels her job has been increasingly harder over the past few years. Every time she opens a newspaper or goes online, she thinks ministers are “kicking” her and her co-workers. Maclean says she is frequently left in “utter disbelief.”

Nick Mackenzie, who works for Greene King, added: “The financial pressures facing pubs are threatening the role that they play at the heart of communities and the UK economy.”

These price rises could see several pubs call last orders for the final time. According to Statista, “the number of drink-led premises in Great Britain fell by 5.6% between March 2020 and December 2021. Meanwhile, food-led premises, such as those that primarily serve food rather than beverages, saw a 9.1% decline during this period.”

It appears regular punters can’t take the price increases, with the value of a pint continuing to rise year on year. As of August 2024, the average price of a pink in Great Britain is £4.98. This is based off of 30 beer brands over lagers, casks and stouts.

In 2023, the average price of a pint of beer was £0.49 higher than in 2022, £0.93 higher than in 2018, and £3.66 higher than in 1987. According to the Office for National Statistics, beer prices have risen 5.6% year on year from February 2024.

Adding to this, it is estimated that about a third of the price of a pint is just tax. Several landlords and landladies think this could rise even more.

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