Budget 2011: live commentary and debate
Chancellor George Osborne is set to deliver his first March Budget on Wednesday this week from 12:30pm and Caterersearch.com will hold produce a live commentary on all the measures affecting the hospitality industry on this web page.
There will also be an opportunity for you to get involved on have your say on the issues facing your business, what the Budget means for you, and how satisfied (or dissatisfied) you are with the job the Coalition Government is doing.
Osborne has already indicated that he would not be asking for new tax rises or spending cuts, and there is widespread speculation that a planned 1p rise in fuel duty will be postponed.
But the outlook for alcohol taxes is much less certain, despite furious lobbying on the part of organisations like the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) to obtain a freeze in the duty escalator.
Meanwhile, a drop in VAT from the 20% rate introduced in January this year looks extremely unlikely.
The debate will go live in the box below at 12pm on Wednesday and will continue throughout the afternoon until 3:30pm. Enter your email address in the box below for a reminder and joining instructions.
If you'd like to contribute but you're unable to join in live, you can share your views on our industry discussion forum Table Talk or you can Tweet your thoughts using the hashtag #caterer_budget2011.