Call to cool off curry taxes

A CITY restaurateur has backed a campaign urging the Westminster government to cut VAT to help stimulate the British curry industry.

Dr Wali Tasar Uddin MBE, of Britannia Spice, who is regional president of the Guild of Bangladeshi Restaurateurs representing the bulk of UK’s 10,000-plus curry houses, has said that even the smallest reduction in tax could make all the difference between restaurants surviving or going bust.

He said: “Elsewhere in Europe, governments 
recognise the importance of their restaurant, hotels and tourist attractions by making tax concessions for them.”