Archaeologists have uncovered the first Iron Age wine press in Lebanon, dating from the 7th century BC. Excavations at the ancient settlement of Tell el-Burak near the city of Sidon uncovered the well-preserved press, which was constructed from plaster made by mixing lime and recycled ceramics. Wine makers would have stomped the grapes in the … Read more
Caterers of funerals, weddings, corporate conferences and other events have been left out of the Chancellor’s £4.1billion tax cut for the hospitality industry, official guidelines suggest. The £70billion UK events industry has been on its knees as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with caterers seeing months of event bookings vanish overnight and some seeing … Read more
Ken McMeikan knows how to get his point across to politicians. While running high street chain Greggs in 2012, he made George Osborne scrap his plans for a ‘pasty tax’ on hot takeaway goods by climbing a stepladder outside Downing Street dressed as a baker and blasting his opposition to the policy through a megaphone. … Read more
Fast-food lovers could snap up a discount Big Mac from this morning after McDonald’s announced plans to slash prices on some of its best-loved items. Chicken McNuggets, Happy Meals and the Quarter Pounder with Cheese are set to come down in price after Rishi Sunak slashed VAT from 20 per cent to 5 per cent. … Read more
A firm boasted it could win a gong for a celebrity author for £80,000, the Daily Mail reveals. Leaked emails expose a cynical offer to help Barbara Taylor Bradford become a dame by getting direct feedback from ‘the people that matter’. The brazen messages stated: ‘Basically our fee is 80K plus VAT… we bill half … Read more
No Chancellor in modern times has faced the looming horror of mass unemployment that scarred this country and the world economy in the 1930s. But this is precisely what Rishi Sunak’s unprecedented measures yesterday were designed to stave off. As what has been called the ‘first phase’ of the pandemic comes to an end, the … Read more
While the Prime Minister has urged those hitting the pubs to be sensible, he is hoping that people are not so cautious with their wallets. Figures released in late June showed that the UK discovered its economy had contracted in April by the largest percentage in recorded history. A few days later, non-essential shops reopened … Read more
Fuller’s boss urges Chancellor to cut VAT to prevent thousands of job losses across hospitality industry By Lucy White For The Daily Mail Published: 21:59 BST, 3 July 2020 | Updated: 22:19 BST, 3 July 2020 Fuller’s boss has urged the Chancellor to cut VAT to prevent thousands of job losses across the hospitality industry. … Read more
RUTH SUNDERLAND: Cut in VAT would have popular appeal and send a strong message of support to troubled parts of the economy – just the ticket Rishi Sunak is understood to have cooled on the idea of reducing VAT Two former Chancellors, Sajid Javid and Alistair Darling, have come out for a cut By Ruth … Read more
Former chancellor Sajid Javid heaped pressure on successor Rishi Sunak to cut taxes to help Britain recover from coronavirus today as he called for reductions in National Insurance and VAT. Mr Javid, who quit in February after a bruising clash with Boris Johnson and his aide Dominic Cummings, called for a ‘significant temporary’ reduction in NI … Read more