Mayor Menino and his minions have been traveling the city to get support from restaurateurs and residents alike for his proposal to up the meal tax from 5% to 6%. Somewhat surprisingly, given the usual antipathy toward taxes, the plan seems to be relatively popular. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that the meal tax increase would result in every homeowner’s property tax being lessened by $200 a year, according to the Allston-Brighton Tab. Although many restaurateurs, including Doug Bacon of White Horse Tavern and Chris Douglas of Icarus, support the bill, the Massachusetts Restaurant Association has come out against it, claiming that it singles out restaurants for a tax increase rather than distributing it more evenly and that it will disproportionately effect lower-income diners.
Although we’re always a little annoyed when fees for anything increase (don’t even get us STARTED on the fact that the T costs twice as much as it did when we were growing up and has had no attendant upswing in service), we don’t think the meal tax sounds like a bad idea. Boston’s meal taxes would still be lower than in almost any other city, and it wouldn’t make a huge difference on most checks. Furthermore, it would be pretty great if Bostonians got a reduction on their property taxes that was partially financed by tourists. What do you think? Let us know!
Meals Tax Mulled [Allston-Brighton Tab]
Dishing Up Support for Meals Tax [Boston Globe]
Increasing the Sales Tax on Meals [Massachusetts Restaurant Association]
[Photo: Ministry of Finance: Japan]
