Petition · past parliament · HM Treasury
Reduce VAT on cafe and restaurant food and increase VAT on alcohol sold in shops
Closed
105 signatures
What the petition asks
The Licensing Act 2003 intended to create a café style culture with limited success. This proposal could help drive the change.
Cafe and restaurant food service is more labour intensive than shop sales of alcohol so making eating out cheaper should drive economic growth.
Cafe and restaurant food service is more labour intensive than shop sales of alcohol so making eating out cheaper should drive economic growth.
We want all food served in cafes, restaurants, pubs etc. to be cheaper to consumers as this should help hospitality businesses survive.
Increasing VAT on the sale of alcohol in shops should encourage people to go to cafes and restaurants and also reduce heavy drinking at home. This should be better for tax revenues than minimum pricing and should be neutral or beneficial to tax revenues if implemented correctly.
EU member states are regulated and cannot have multiple VAT rates. As the UK leaves the EU we can.
Increasing VAT on the sale of alcohol in shops should encourage people to go to cafes and restaurants and also reduce heavy drinking at home. This should be better for tax revenues than minimum pricing and should be neutral or beneficial to tax revenues if implemented correctly.
EU member states are regulated and cannot have multiple VAT rates. As the UK leaves the EU we can.
Timeline
| 29 Jul 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 29 Jan 2021 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
105
Status
Closed
Department
HM Treasury
Opened
29 Jul 2020
Closed
29 Jan 2021
Follow this petition
Sign in to get an email when the government responds, a debate is scheduled or held, or the petition closes.
Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.