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Stephen Gilbert MPCornwall's voice in the Commons |
GILBERT WELCOMES PASTY TAX SUCCESS
May 28, 2012 8:33 PM
Following the news from HM Treasury that Cornish pasties and other batch-baked fresh food will continue to be VAT free, Stephen Gilbert, the MP for St Austell & Newquay, commented:
"The Cornish people have won and there will be dancing in streets from Land's End to the Tamar as people hear that the Government has dropped their plans to clobber local people and local businesses with this tax.
"The strength of feeling from local people and the national baking industry has been clear since these proposals were announced. Plans to extend VAT to batch-baked goods would have been unfair, unenforceable and would have cost jobs and investment across the country.
"Since the budget, I have worked with the industry to find an alternative and I'm delighted that the Government has listened and agreed. This alternative, that I proposed in meetings with the Minister and through Parliamentary debates, is a workable solution that creates a level playing field with other sorts of hot food and won't endanger jobs, investment or growth."