Eat weighs in on 'panini tax' debate Sandwich and coffee specialist Eat has become the latest company to lambast the Chancellor George Osborne over the so-called "pasty tax" he introduced in last week's Budget. Simon Hitchcock, a partner at Lyceum Capital, which last year took a controlling interest in a £100m management buyout of the 118-store chain, condemned the decision to add VAT to the price of food sold at "above ambient temperature." After a campaign by Greggs against the tax, Mr Hitchcock said: "It's not just pasties and pies, it's paninis as well." Eat grew pre-tax profits by 8 per cent to £2.74m, on an £87.4m turnover for the year to 30 June 2011.