Sir Tim Martin, the boss of Wetherspoon, criticised the “tax inequality” faced by pubs, saying there was “political indifference to the real threats to hospitality”.
Sir Tim added: “Most pub-goers won’t be consoled by princes and potentates paying less for caviar and champagne at Harrods, if that’s the main outcome of the Budget.”
Nick Mackenzie, chief executive of Greene King, said: “For too long, pubs have paid a disproportionate business rates bill, as the system fails to reflect the low-margin, cost-intensive nature of our industry.
“It’s high time the Government backs pubs and creates a fair tax system rather than hitting them with yet more costs.”
The revelation of lower tax bills for Selfridges and Harrods is also politically challenging for the Chancellor, who said in the Budget she was “asking everyone to make a contribution”.
It comes amid a growing row over long-awaited property tax reforms, with bosses claiming the Chancellor has failed to deliver on a promise to cut tax rates for pubs, restaurants and small shops to their lowest level in more than three decades.
Ms Reeves had said tax cuts for small high street businesses would be paid for by increasing the levy on higher-value properties, such as warehouses used by Amazon and other online giants.
However, hospitality chiefs say the business rates reforms, unveiled as part of the Budget last month, failed to help smaller businesses on the high street.
As part of the changes, the Chancellor axed Covid-era support, which has left many businesses facing higher rather than lower bills.
A poll by the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII), which represents 13,000 pubs across the country, last week revealed that 90pc of respondents were planning to raise drink prices to cushion the blow from business rate increases.
A spokesman for the Treasury said: “We’re protecting pubs, restaurants and cafés with the Budget’s £4.3bn support package. Without this support, pubs would face a 45pc increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support we’ve put in place, we’ve got that down to just 4pc.
“This comes on top of our efforts to ease licencing to help more venues offer pavement drinks and put on one-off events, maintaining our cut to alcohol duty on draught pints and capping corporation tax.”
Harrods and Selfridges declined to comment.
