Subway starts VAT campaign after pasties win reprieve
Fast-food chain Subway is to rename its toasted sandwiches as "hot bread pasties" to highlight what it calls "unfair" VAT on the product.
The company made the move after it emerged that while cooling pasties would not now be covered by the tax, following a U-turn by Chancellor George Osborne, hot sandwiches would still be liable for 20% VAT.
The Daily Mirror reported that Subway had started a "toast the tax" campaign, with franchise owners planning legal action to get the toasted sandwiches the same status as pasties.
Exeter Subway owner Harvey Brown said: "If the chancellor thinks that scrapping the tax on pasties has put this issue to bed he's very much mistaken.
"I haven't spoken to anyone who can understand why toasted sandwiches should have VAT added but pasties shouldn't.
"Just like pasties, they're everyday foods which ordinary people rely on for a quick, filling, affordable lunch. The Government should treat sarnies the same as savouries.
"The chancellor should have the courage to admit the whole thing has been a fiasco. It's time to toast the tax entirely."
More than two million Subways are sold in the UK each week and there are plans to open 500 more branches over the next three years, taking the total to 2,000.
The chain is one of 17 food and drink companies that signed up to a Government's Responsibility Deal to reduce calories and display them on menu boards.
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By Neil Gerrard
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