By bizn_fun 
Miranda Richardson, the landlady of The Squirrels pub in Duston, said the hospitality sector “needed” a reduction in VAT but got “nothing”.
“VAT was huge in hospitality and a reduction for us was a massive thing – and nothing; that’s what we wanted, that’s what we needed,” she said.
Ms Richardson added wage increases would “not help” the business and would affect all members of staff.
Mark Gee, who runs the Crown Pub in Wellingborough, said the hospitality sector was “a bit of a disaster” following the Chancellor’s budget.
He said increases to minimum wage, beer prices and a lack of reduction in VAT meant he would have to change opening times to make “necessary” savings.
“No relief at all on VAT, which kind of kills you really, because anything you do to try and make [money], you get taxed on,” he said.
“The minimum wage in principle seems like a great thing for the youngsters and seasonal workers.
“People just can’t afford to pay that so now, like ourselves in the pub game, we have to sort of pass it on by saving money by opening up later in the week than we used to [and] shutting earlier – it’s just a spiral of a nightmare really.”