Restaurant owners fear the number of diners will diminish drastically as the VAT for take away food has been modified unfavorably by a Union regulation.
The EU regulation states that from 1 July the VAT for locally consumed meals is 25%, while for take-away food it is only 18%. Still, in one of the Great Forest restaurants, it doesn’t cost more to eat soup there than to take it away. The restaurant pays the difference because, as the owner says, they are afraid they will have fewer guests. “If we tell those people who liked eating out that take-away food is cheaper from now on, there’s a chance that they won’t sit down anymore and if this happens, drink consumption may drop back dramatically.” –said restaurant owner Lajos Drabik.
A city center pastry shop also disagrees with the regulation. They are reluctant to raise the price of locally consumed sweets. The owner hopes the regulation will be abolished because he thinks it doesn’t make much sense and it’s not easy to keep it. Confectioners have already written a letter to the minister of national economy in which they express that they want the abolishment of this regulation but they haven’t received a reply yet.
