Pubs and Stores Say Sunak Budget Lifeline Doesn’t Go Far Enough

  • Beleaguered aviation industry bemoans lack of support
  • ‘Super deduction’ tax policy is seen spurring investment

Police officers stand outside a closed pub in the West End in London on March 1. 

Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
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Britain’s retail and hospitality industries, among the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic, welcomed support measures included in the U.K. budget, while expressing frustration that the government didn’t do more.

Delivering his annual budget with the country mired in a third national lockdown, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak extended relief from business rates -- a form of U.K. property tax -- renewed a government-funded furlough program and extended a reduction in value-added tax for hospitality and tourism.