St. Austell & Newquay

All three Conservative MPs in Cornwall, George Eustice, Sheryll Murray and Sarah Newton, have called for all Cornish people to respond to the formal Consultation on the HMRC website describing it as “the most positive way in which Cornish people and businesses can make their voice heard”.  Sarah Newton, MP for Truro & Falmouth, has already held the Government to account by asking in the House of Commons chamber, “Creative industries are vital to Cornwall, but so is creating high-quality food products. There is growing concern throughout Cornwall about the possible unintended consequences of the Budget and about the undoubtedly real threat to the Cornish pasty of the pasty tax.”  Sheryll Murray, MP for South East Cornwall, has written to the Chancellor pointing out the damage this tax may do, penalising freshness in the tax system, and the anomalies in trying to enforce it.  In her letter she asks, “Who is going to monitor the ambient against pasty temperature?  Surely the last thing we need is to employ an army of thermometer wielding tax inspectors poking our pasties to see if they have cooled enough?  What is going to be the difference allowable from ambient temperature?  If a pasty is sitting in a window and the sun is shining then is this pasty VATable?  If a pasty is sold cold but an oven is made available to customers, is this then VATable?  Would it be VATable if a charge was made for the use of the oven?”  In her letter she describes the tax as “ill thought out”.  George Eustice, MP for Camborne Redruth, is joining Sarah and Sheryll in the call to ensure the strongest possible voice comes from Cornwall over the Pasty tax.  In a statement he said, “The Pasty is a huge industry in Cornwall enjoyed by people every day and we need the largest number possible from Cornwall to respond to this consultation.”