TWO pubs in Basingstoke will lower their prices for one day only, to highlight tax disadvantages between supermarkets and pubs.

Wetherspoons pubs The Angel in Festival Place and The Maidenhead Inn on Winchester Street will reduce the price of their food and drink by 7.5 per cent on Thursday, September 14  to mark Tax Equality Day.

Tax Equality Day is part of a campaign started in 2013 by Jacques Borel’s VAT club to reduce the burden of high tax rates on pubs and other hospitality venues.

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Wetherspoons parted from the club in 2015 but has since continued to hold Tax Equality Day annually.

All food and drink in pubs are subject to 20 per cent VAT, whereas supermarkets pay zero VAT, allowing them to pass the savings onto customers.

The Angel manager, Jo Stevens-Yule, said: "Customers coming to The Angel on Thursday, September 14 will find the price of their food and drink is lower than normal.

"It is unfair that supermarkets pay zero VAT on food, but pubs pay 20 per cent. Pubs have been under fantastic pressure for decades due to the tax disadvantages it has with supermarkets.

"We urge the Chancellor to create tax equality between pubs and supermarkets."

Wetherspoons hopes the move will highlight the benefit of a permanent VAT reduction in the hospitality industry.

Visit The Angel in Festival Place or The Maidenhead Inn in Winchester Street on Thursday, September 14 to receive the discount.