Plan B Forum

Imposing VAT on hot food such as Cornish pasties sold in supermarkets has been attacked by politicians in Cornwall.





The Office of Tax Simplification said the savoury favourites should be subject to 20% VAT.

The proposals to end "anomalies" in VAT were revealed in the Budget on Wednesday by Chancellor George Osborne.

Cornwall councillors say a rise would hit jobs in the county and the cash locals have to spend.

Liberal Democrat Alex Folkes said: "Pasties aren't just a symbol of Cornwall, they are a key part of our manufacturing economy and thousands of people in Cornwall are employed either directly or indirectly by the pasty industry.

"Raising the price of pasties, especially when the extra money goes to the government, not the firms, will cut sales and lead to job losses."

He added: "They are a very filling and cheap food, not a luxury."

Mebyon Kernow councillor Rob Simmons wrote on his blog: "If and when this legislation is introduced, your £2.50 ($3.95) medium steak pasty will now be £3, ($4.74) and your £3 large steak pasty will be £3.60. ($5.69)

"So that's money out of ordinary decent Cornish folks' pockets, a blow to our bakers and hardly great news for tourism."

Mr Osborne said in his Budget announcement that anomalies in VAT would be scrapped on 1 October.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-17473688

Gob wrote:...
"So that's money out of ordinary decent Cornish folks' pockets, a blow to our bakers and hardly great news for tourism." ... "

He added: "They are a very filling and cheap food, not at all worth eating."

The decision to add VAT to the price of all food sold at "above ambient temperature" has confused and angered many.

David Cameron says the change was introduced to make sure the rules regarding sales of hot food are fairly applied, but critics say the lack of definition of "ambient temperature" will cause unnecessary complexity.

Mark Edwardson reports;Video on page

Gob wrote:LOL!! A pasty is FOTG mate!

The driving rain failed to quell the buoyant spirits of hundreds of flag-waving campaigners who gathered en masse to march through a Cornish town yesterday in protest at the Government's controversial "pasty tax".



With black and white flags of St Piran hoisted aloft, more than 500 rain-soaked protestors made their feelings known as they marched through Falmouth against Chancellor George Osborne's plan to slap 20 per cent VAT on top of the cost of a hot pasty.

Led by Falmouth Marine Band, campaigners shrugged off the weather and marched through the town to Events Square to listen to a series of rousing speeches.

Demonstration organiser and comedian Edward Rowe, otherwise known as Kernow King, said: "We are here today for a very special reason – somebody north of Saltash wants to tax our pasties and it's wonderful to see so many people here to say no.

"This weather is shocking – I don't think we could have picked a worse day but we are used to it being tough down here."

Maureen Fuller, deputy grand bard of the Cornish Gorsedh, said the humble pasty was a staple food and the "cornerstone" of Cornish life.

"Facing a 50p increase in price just isn't right. This will cost jobs, it's anti-Westcountry, unworkable and our message is hands off our pasties," she said.

Pasty maker Ann Muller, who runs a bakery on the Lizard peninsula, said: "Keeping a small business going through the winter isn't easy and we prudently keep prices down because of the recession. To see Westminister coming down to plunder our staple diet is unbelievable.

"My message to Mr Osborne is that 50p may not be much to you but it's a hell of a lot down here."

Cornwall councillor Alex Folkes described the pasty tax as "wrong on so many levels" and warned it would cost the economy millions in terms of lost of jobs and sales.

He said: "We are proud of our pasties and we want them to continue to be enjoyed by everybody and the pasty tax will put 20 per cent on the cost of the average pasty, so fewer people will buy them and that will mean less jobs.

"I am astounded and hugely gratified by the way this campaign has taken off."

Cries of "What do we want – pasties. How do we want them – hot and tax free" pulsed through the placard-waving crowd as they marched from The Moor to Events Square, some sporting pasty outfits, others in traditional Cornish kilts.

Cornwall councillor Loveday Jenkin, Mebyon Kernow's culture spokesperson, said: "Pasties are part of the culture and identity of Cornwall and Westminster doesn't seem to understand that. A lot of small, independent businesses will be hit by this tax and that's bad for our economy and bad for jobs."

The Treasury has said VAT is already charged on most hot food and adding it to pasties closes a "loophole".

The Office of Tax Simplification

The government is to reverse its plans to impose VAT on Cornish pasties, the BBC has learned.

Ministers have also reduced the intended 20% charge which was due to be levied on static caravans to 5%.

The U-turn from Chancellor George Osborne's Budget follows protests by bakers and caravanning enthusiasts.

The government has altered the definition of what is a "hot" pasty to allow the reversal of its plans. Labour said ministers were "incompetent".

After the amendment, food such as sausage rolls or pasties sold on shelves - that is, cooling down, rather than being kept hot in a special cabinet - will not be liable for VAT.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18244640

The international appeal of the pasty will be celebrated in the heart of Cornish mining country at the UK's first ever Cornish Pasty Festival next month.

The three-day festival will take place in Redruth, running from September 21 to 23. It will also highlight Cornwall's international links with Mexico, dating back to when migrating Cornish miners took their expertise and traditions, including the pasty, to new mining regions around the world.

Now twinned with Real del Monte in Mexico, an area referred to as 'Little Cornwall', Redruth will welcome seven Mexican representatives who host a similar big pasty festival every year.

The festival will begin with Miners' Day on Friday September 21. One of the highlights of the day will be the "wife auctioning" – a re-enactment of the true tale of how a miner auctioned his wife and was subsequently jailed.

Pasty Day on Saturday September 22 will see pasty producers and Cornish produce suppliers turn the town centre into a lively street market.

Alongside traditional flavours, there will be an array of Mexican-inspired fillings specifically invented for the day by Berryman's Bakery. These will include chicken fajita, chilli-beef and chocolate, vegetarian refried bean and cheese burrito, and sweet pineapple and banana with chilli chocolate.

In the afternoon expert bakers will use ingredients donated by Prima Bakery, Etherington Butchers and Gear Farm to help 500 children make their own free pasty for a mass picnic.

The Cornish Crisp Company will also be offering taste-testing of pasty-flavoured crisps at the festival. The public will help decide which flavour the company will develop in conjunction with the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site.

And Sunday September 23 will see former miners remembered at Basset Stamp House and St Euny Church.

David Rutherford, principal officer of World Heritage Site Discover the Extraordinary, said: "Redruth forms part of one of the ten areas of our World Heritage Site and the history of the Cornish pasty is a tale we continue to tell throughout our work therefore it was a fitting choice for us to support the Cornish Pasty Festival.

"It's events like these which continue to promote the stories of how mining culture has shaped our world and again pinpoints areas of the site as having global significance."

For more information about the Cornish Pasty Festival visit, www.visitredruth.co.uk. More information about the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site is available at www.cornish-mining.org.uk.