Supermarket giant Tesco has called on the Government to delay a rise in VAT scheduled for January 1st, according to this report on the Daily Telegraph.

Set to increase from 15 per cent to 17.5 per cent, VAT was cut in November in a move to combat the recession. Many called the value of the cut into question at the time.

Tesco, however, praised the reduction and urged a delay in returining to the old 17.5 per cent rate:

"The measures introduced by the Government last year helped consumers and businesses through the toughest times,” said Tesco’s director for corporate and legal affairs Lucy Neville Rolfe.

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