A woman faces shutting down her home-made lemon pie business after her licence fee soared from $15 to $100.Hazel DeCoute ran Bunny’s Baked Goods to supplement her income, baking one pie a week in her Southampton kitchen for her single regular customer, the Country Squire in Somerset.Mrs DeCoute says she can’t afford to shell out for the six-fold increase in her Food Establishment Licence Fee, especially as she barely makes a profit selling the pies at $12 each.Country Squire owner Donald Hassell, who has started buying his pies from a wholesaler instead, believes Government is depriving people like Mrs DeCoute of their hobby by sending their licence fee sky-high.“I saw how much the fee had increased and I said, wow, wait a minute. It’s extortionate,” Mrs DeCoute told The Royal Gazette.“I have my application form, but I don’t know what to do with it. I was able to pay $15, but $100 is so much more. They didn’t even send me a letter to say why.“I have been doing this now for five years because I enjoy doing it as a side job. I bake more at Christmas, but Donald is my only real customer.”Mr Hassell’s licence fee has climbed from $615 to more than $1,400, but he said he feels most sorry for people like Mrs DeCoute.“This gave her a bit of pocket money and gave her something she liked to do. They are taking their hobby away from them,” he said.“She wouldn’t buy in bulk so, if you counted up everything she spent making the pie, she’s actually making very little profit.“The product itself is very popular. It’s a real shame she’s not able to do it for us any more.”Mr Hassell said he understands Government is getting a lot of envelopes back from people who are not renewing their licence fee. He believes that is a result of the hike.Both Opposition parties have urged Government not to proceed with the increases introduced by last year’s Government Fees Amendment Act, which came into force this month.Government has apologised for failing to remind businesses the rises are imminent, but says the fees were previously very low, and did not reflect the work done inspecting premises and providing licences.