Scotland's top chef has called an independent Scotland to slash the 20% rate of VAT on food served in hotels and restaurants.
Andrew Fairlie, chef-patron of Scotland's only two-Michelin starred restaurant at Gleneagles, said that if Scotland were to become independent it would gain full control over taxation and revenues, and should use these to reduce VAT on hospitality - making it cheaper to eat out in restaurants and to stay in hotels.
The move has been resisted by the Westminster Government but if implemented here, he said, it could boost the Scottish economy by £350m and create nearly 7000 new jobs.
Mr Fairlie was speaking ahead of a major Institute of Hospitality debate on the potential impact of independence on the lucrative Scottish food, drink, tourism and hospitality sectors.
The move would also help restaurateurs, many of whom are under "enormous pressure" to pay VAT bills on top of lease repayments.
Mr Fairlie is heading the Yes team at the IOH debate on September 18 opposite Beppo Buchanan-Smith, owner of the Isle of Eriska hotel near Oban. Issues to be debated include Scotland's membership of the EU, joining the euro and having its own currency.
"The food-and-drink sector is already flourishing under the Scottish Government like never before, and I think independence will do further good for this sector but also for tourism and hospitality," he said.
"The Westminster Government has said it will not lower the rate of VAT on food served in restaurants, and recently announced it would actually increase Air Passenger Duty Tax - meaning it will continue be more expensive to travel to the UK than anywhere else."
l Will we only have porridge to eat? See Cate Devine's food column in today's Herald Magazine.
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