West Country music venue backs calls for VAT cut
Night time economy bosses are planning a large protest in London next month
A West Country music venue is giving its backing to a major protest being planned by businesses across the night time economy.
A group Culture Calling is planning a demonstration in London on Sunday 15 October to demand a reduction in VAT.
On their website they say the financial issues businesses are facing are "untenable", with costs 40 per cent above pre-pandemic levels.
They add 13,000 businesses have folded since March 2020 and thousands more are on the verge of collapse.
"We have consistently asked for financial relief through the Government but the recent Spring budget left a void in support which many will not recover from," a post on the website reads.
"Businesses are dealing with an immediate crisis, which needs immediate action from a Government who once said they would leave no one behind."
One year ago speaking to Hits Radio the Cheese & Grain in Frome backed national calls for action on energy prices.
Now, the venue is doing the same again for VAT.
Operations manager Rob Dahl said: "The cost of everything has gone up.
"There's a cost of living crisis happening across the board and with 40 per cent increased costs it's putting a strain on everything...
"I know a lot of my colleagues who work in the events industry who are really struggling and some of their venues and pubs are shutting down which is heart breaking really."
The Cheese & Grain is run by a charitable trust with the aim of promoting Frome, so a reduction in VAT, wouldn't apply for them as it would for a more traditional venue.
Rob however, still backs calls for the change.
"The UK events industry is worth something like £42 billion annually to the UK," he said.
"It's one of the crown jewels of the industries that the UK can actually be proud of, that we do better than anywhere else in the world, which you can't say about many things these days.
"But it needs support..."
Asked for a statement in response, a spokesperson for His Majesty's Treasury said: "We recognise the challenges the hospitality sector faces, which is why we provided hundreds of billions of pounds of support during the pandemic and since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, in addition to £13.6 billion in business rates relief, cutting energy bills, £10 billion in fuel duty cuts since last year, and protecting the prices of draught pints through the Brexit Pubs Guarantee.”