"Pasty tax" was a popular phrase used by the British press to describe a proposal in the 2012 United Kingdom budget to simplify the tax treatment of "hot takeaway food" so that Value Added Tax (VAT) would be charged at 20% in all cases. The change would have increased the sale price of hot snacks such as sausage rolls and Cornish pasties sold on the premises where they were baked. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne delivered the proposal of the so-called "March Budget".

Under long-standing VAT legislation, sale of most foods bought to eat or cook at home is zero-rated for VAT, meaning that no tax is charged. By contrast, meals bought and consumed in a restaurant, and hot take-away food or drink, are charged at a standard 20% tax rate. At the boundary between these two classes, there has been a history of legal challenges around food which is baked for sale, and is sold while still hot. If food could be claimed to be hot only incidentally, it could be zero-rated - this would apply to freshly baked bread, but also pies, pasties and similar items.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org