Chef Sean Gravina has renewed calls for a reduction in VAT, arguing that the current 18% rate is “simply not sustainable” for restaurants and cafés struggling with rising costs and shrinking profit margins.Gravina’s statement highlights how several European countries have lowered VAT on catering services in response to post-pandemic inflation and economic pressures on the hospitality industry.“These decisions weren’t made overnight,” the statement said. “They came after years of inflation, rising labour costs, higher utility bills and shrinking margins. Governments realised that restaurants and cafés, which employ thousands and keep city centres alive, were being taxed beyond what their reality could handle.”Lowering VAT, Gravina argued, would ease financial pressure on businesses, encourage transparency, and stabilise prices for consumers. He went on to argue that by easing the pressure through a lower VAT rate, other countries created a system that rewards transparency, keeps prices stable for customers and allows small businesses to breathe.The statement also endorsed the use of fully live point-of-sale (POS) systems to ensure accountability and fairness. “A realistic rate combined with full transparency would give the catering industry the breathing space it needs to keep evolving and contributing positively to Malta’s economy,” Gravina wrote. View this post on InstagramA post shared by Lovin Malta (@lovinmalta)Challenging the notion that a VAT reduction would necessarily reduce government revenue, the chef suggested that “sometimes less tax doesn’t mean less income. It means a fairer and cleaner system where everyone wins-business owners, employees, and the government itself.”The statement concluded by addressing the potential impact on consumer prices: “If VAT goes down, will prices actually drop? The truth is, once the rate is fair, competition will do the rest. It only takes a few restaurants to adjust their prices, and suddenly the market responds. That’s how real economies work- not through control, but through balance. Lower VAT would create the space for that natural competition to happen, and in the end, customers will benefit too.”Malta’s catering industry has long warned that high taxation, rising costs, and tight margins are putting strain on small and medium-sized businesses. Advocates of a VAT reduction argue that reform is essential to keep the sector sustainable, and competitive, in a European market where “less is already proving to mean more.”Do you agree with him?•