Chief Minister Alf Cannan says the cost of giving the hospitality industry special treatment would have to be met by the Island's taxpayers.
This morning in Tynwald, he faced questions about what he was doing to help the industry after it said it was struggling with high costs and falling trade.
Mr Cannan said calls for lower VAT, lower taxation for those on the minimum wage and lower alcohol duty meant shifting the costs elsewhere.
And he dismissed comparisons with government support for the construction industry:
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