Epos Now CEO backs hospitality rates cut, pushes for VAT relief

Epos Now founder and CEO Jacyn Heavens welcomed a proposed 20% business rates cut for UK hospitality businesses, calling it a relief for high street operators. He is urging Prime Minister Andy Burnham to go further with VAT cuts for small and medium-sized businesses.

Why it matters: - The business rates cut would lower costs for pubs, clubs and music venues that have faced years of pressure from inflation and a tax system that favors online retail. - Heavens says VAT relief would be the bigger step if the government wants to help small and medium-sized businesses grow.

What happened: - Jacyn Heavens, founder and CEO of Epos Now, welcomed Andy Burnham’s 20% cut to business rates for hospitality businesses. - The policy also raises the threshold for independent hospitality, leisure and retail businesses. - Reports say the cuts would be funded by higher business rates on large out-of-town distribution warehouses operated by companies such as Amazon. - Epos Now supports more than 100,000 merchants worldwide.

The details: - Heavens called the move "a lifeline" for small and medium-sized businesses squeezed by rising costs. - He said the announcement shows a government willing to "rebalance the scales" between online giants and high street businesses. - Heavens is pressing the prime minister to commit to a VAT reduction for small and medium-sized businesses. - He said business rates reform is only a first step and that VAT is the "single biggest lever" to ease pressure on businesses that employ millions of people across the country. - Heavens previously wrote to then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves to call for a VAT reduction for SMEs. - He has also backed Chef Tom Kerridge’s "VATs the Problem" campaign, which seeks to cut hospitality VAT from 20% to 10%. - Epos Now says it is a UK-founded company valued at over £1 billion and a member of the UK’s Unicorn Council. - The company says its products cover payments, point-of-sale, capital and business management software.

Between the lines: - The rates cut may ease one of the most visible fixed costs for hospitality operators, but it does not address broader operating pressures such as VAT. - Heavens is using the announcement to keep attention on a wider tax overhaul for SMEs, not just hospitality.

What's next: - The pressure is now on Burnham to decide whether the rates cut is the start of a wider package for small businesses. - Heavens is likely to keep pushing for VAT reform as the next policy move. - The hospitality sector will watch whether any VAT change is added to the rates plan or left for a later announcement.