Why this pasty-tax is baking mad

Published: 17:00 EST, 28 April 2012 | Updated: 18:21 EST, 28 April 2012

They thought it would slip by unnoticed.

The Government, that is, and their scheme to introduce VAT on hot baked goods bought in bakeries and supermarkets.

Sausage rolls, steak slices and pasties to be precise.

‘We’re seeking to close a loophole,’ trilled the Treasury.

If a pasty or sausage roll is sold at room temperature, it'll be VAT-exempt. Yet if it's served hot, the 20 per cent tax will be whacked on

Before arguing that they’re ending a three-decades-old anomaly whereby bakers are exempt from the sales tax, while other vendors of fast food, such as fish and chips, have to charge punters VAT.

As if this weren’t bad enough, we’ve had to put up with politicians of all shades organising photo shoots to show how down they are with the people.

And shoving the poor pasty into their publicity-hungry gobs. Just the thing to put one off one’s breakfast.

Whether or not the bakers should pay tax isn’t the only issue.

William Sitwell knows his food. He’s the editor of Waitrose Kitchen magazine, and a frequent contributor to all manner of programmes on the radio and TV. And his new book, A History Of Food In 100 Recipes (£20, Collins), is a copper-bottomed cracker. Beautifully written and very well researched, it mixes recipes with food history. Splendid stuff, and too good to leave in the kitchen.

Consider the, ahem, half-baked manner in which this increase will be applied.

If a pasty or sausage roll is sold at room temperature, it’ll be VAT-exempt.

Yet if it’s served hot, the 20 per cent tax will be whacked on.

So on a searing summer’s day, a fairly warm pasty will be sans VAT.

And in an icy winter, one sitting at room temperature will be ‘hot’ and thus subject to tax.

And what happens if a shop decides to turn up the thermostat to subtropical levels?

Then everything that comes piping hot from the oven will be exempt. It just makes no sense.

Will we see crack teams of tax inspectors trained to wield the heat probe, and raiding offending premises, flashing their IDs and telling folk to ‘step away from the pasty’? How will this ridiculous law be regulated?

The long-term effect could be ruinous, too.

‘There’s no doubt that slapping the VAT on hot Cornish pasties will affect us,’ says Phil Ugalde of the Proper Cornish Food Company (propercornish.co.uk).

‘We believe people will migrate to sandwiches and cold food.

'And it will affect Cornwall disproportionately, as twice as many people work in the food industry here than in the country as a whole.’

He pauses, a note of fury creeping into his voice.

‘The politicians just haven’t thought this through. The Government might enjoy the spoils of VAT, but we’ll make less profit, and lose jobs.’

And it’s not just Cornwall that will suffer.

Kennedy McMeikan, CEO of Greggs, voiced fears that the planned VAT changes would cause huge damage to the bakery industry nationwide, including job losses.

Of course, Greggs sells pasties, but not Cornish pasties. The genuine article is protected regional food, with only pasties made in Cornwall able to legally wear the great name.

‘They are part of our way of life,’ says Hettie Merrick, the Cornish high priestess of the pasty, in The Pasty Book.

The Lizard Pasty Shop is now run by her daughter, Ann Muller, and their pasties are glorious, rich, peppery and solidly fine.

A true Cornish pasty should have that distinctive D shape, and be crimped on one side, not on the top.

The filling should comprise at least 12.5 per cent meat – hand-chopped beef, uncooked – along with swede, potato, onion and a good twist of pepper.

A firm shortcrust pastry (or the occasional rough puff) is used for the shell, and it’s baked until golden and wonderful.

The issue here isn’t who makes the best product, though.

As Ugalde says, ‘We’ve spent 15 years building up a proper Cornish pasty industry. The rural economy too. This will reverse all that good work.’

So please, Mr Osborne – drop the pasty tax. Not just for the good of our wallets, but to ensure the future of a great British industry.

What to drink with... Cornish pasties

Olly Smith: For a hefty, meaty pasty, a hearty French red such as a Corbières would be ace. But if I’m snacking on a pie, give me a pint of local beer – Harveys Sussex Best Bitter is my local tipple, but if you’re passing Waitrose, a bottle of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord is a pie-friendly treat.