Pubs and music venues get tax cut in HMRC boost from April

After November’s autumn budget sparked fury across the hospitality sector, with dire predictions of mass closures and job losses, the Government has blinked.

HMRC minister Dan Tomlinson says pub and music venue rates will be slashed in 2026/27, then frozen in real terms for two more years. The average pub, he claims, will be £1,650 better off next year. In today’s climate, that’s the difference between pulling pints or pulling the shutters down.

It’s a rare bit of good news for Britain’s battered boozers and struggling gig venues.

Crucially, the relief will also apply to live music spaces, many of which are classed as pubs. Drawing a line between the two, Tomlinson admitted, “would not be right”.

But, hotels, restaurants and cafes — also reeling from soaring costs — get nothing.

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The move follows a mounting backlash over business rates changes that ditched a Covid-era 40% discount while rolling in new property valuations. Ministers talked up a lower multiplier and transitional relief, but industry bosses warned it was nowhere near enough. Without help, pub bills were set to jump 15% this April — and a jaw-dropping 76% by 2028.

It saw dozens of Labour MPs, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, symbolically barred by furious landlords.

BBPA boss Emma McClarkin says it will “stave off the immediate financial threat” and keep locals alive.