Labour calls for new 'minor taxes' in town hall finance shake-up.

Mike Penning, MP for Hemel Hempstead, expressed concern today that the Government is considering introducing a new restaurant tax and take-away tax as part of Gordon Brown’s review of town hall finances. Documents from top Labour councils submitted to the review – being chaired by former Labour councillor and Brown supporter, Sir Michael Lyons – call for new taxes to be levied on eating out, to boost local authorities’ powers to rake in money.

· Official figures from the Office for National Statistics recently showed that spending on eating out and drinking is now £88 billion a year, having doubled in the last decade. There has been a particular increase in ‘mid-scale’ dining, such as gastro-pubs & good value restaurants like Pizza Express, Chinese and Thai Buffets. The Government is now eyeing up the sector for a new tax.

· Sir Michael Lyons has said he is “exploring further” the options for levying taxes on restaurants, and was studying the recommendations that were submitted by a Labour-run body which represents London councils, the Association of London Government.

· This detailed research into new taxes, commissioned at local taxpayers’ expense, calls for a restaurant tax and a take-away tax - which could collectively raise £1.5 billion a year in additional taxation. Such a tax would take the form of a 6% to 10% surcharge on meals.

· Such taxes would potentially be accompanied a new tax on hotels. The leisure and hospitality industry is already expressing alarm at these ‘bed tax’ plans.

Mike commented:

“Dining out, whether at a restaurant or pub, is no longer the preserve of the well-off. In recent years, there has been a dramatic improvement in the quality and range of restaurants in Britain and across Dacorum area. Yet I fear that this high street resurgence will be choked off by a new plate tax and take-away tax.

“The Treasury are eyeing up the popularity of eating-out and now want to cash in. Gordon Brown’s greedy government just wants to grab even more money from people’s pockets via new stealth taxes. We need to vigorously oppose these plans before they get momentum.

“Most people, already facing soaring council taxes and utility bills, will find a levy on their Chinese take-away, fish and chip supper or sit-down meal hard to swallow. Under Brown, taxes have gone up and up, without the improvements in public services in Dacorum that we all want to see.”