Lord Watts
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Hospitality Industry: VAT
Lord Watts Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Lord Pitt-Watson (Lab)
That is a really good question that mayors and local authorities around the country will have to think about—how they make their towns attractive to tourists and nice places to come and visit and therefore support the hospitality industry and the wider community.
Lord Watts (Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that everyone would like a tax cut? Any individual, company or sector will want tax cuts, but you have to be responsible. The Truss Government were not responsible and that set the bond markets off and caused a lot of the problems that we are experiencing now.
Lord Pitt-Watson (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for that question. It brings me back to the fundamental question that we have to think about, which is that we can live only within our means. A VAT cut of 10 percentage points would cost £11 billion. That is about the same cost as the Royal Navy. We need to ask ourselves what the priorities will be. As we look to the Budget, I know that the Chancellor will be looking at absolutely everything, but I thought that benchmark might be helpful for your Lordships’ House.