Merlin Entertainments has joined calls from the hospitality industry for UK government support measures in the forthcoming Budget.
The Poole-based company is one of 112 signatories to an open letter calling for chancellor Jeremy Hunt to decrease taxes on businesses.
The letter said that operators were facing “barriers to growth and recovery” from of labour shortages and the “myriad costs” of doing business.
The letter calls for the following in 6 March’s Budget:
- A cap on business rates increases from April 2024 at 3%.
- A temporary cut in the lower rate of Employer National Insurance Contributions to 10%.
- Review the benefits of a reduced rate of VAT for the sector to 12.5%.
Trade body UKHospitality and business leaders said that “rising costs, labour shortages and the cost-of-living crisis” had led to an “unprecedented surge” in business closures.
A previous reduction in VAT, implemented during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, was not fully passed on, RideRater reported in July 2020.
The letter added: “With the right support, we can help unlock potential economic growth and get more people into work in a matter of months.”
The 112 business said that the measures would help to deliver additional tax revenue “needed to fund public services”.
Merlin closed the spa at Alton Towers this year, citing it as “essential for the future growth and development”.