Pasty tax

The change would have increased the sale price of hot snacks such as sausage rolls and Cornish pasties sold on the premises where they were baked.

By contrast, meals bought and consumed in a restaurant, and hot take-away food or drink, are charged at a standard 20% tax rate.

If food could be claimed to be hot only incidentally, it could be zero-rated - this would apply to freshly baked bread, but also pies, pasties and similar items.

If they are sold specifically for consumption whilst still hot (as a result of being freshly prepared, baked, cooked, reheated or kept warm), they will be standard-rated.

See also paragraph 4.5 If they are sold warm simply because they happen to be freshly baked, are in the process of cooling down and are not intended to be eaten while hot; or cold or chilled at the time of purchase, they can be zero-rated.

[6] These newspapers and commentators made fun of David Cameron's attempt to show himself as a regular pasty eater[7] (i.e. as one of the people) and George Osborne's inability to remember when he had last eaten one.

[9] The "pasty tax" was one of the issues cited by Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband when he labelled the 2012 budget an "omnishambles", a word coined by political comedy series The Thick of It.