The City of Grants Pass wants to place a sales tax on restaurant meals and other prepared foods.
Share these reasons with Grants Pass City Councilors why an unfair and unpredictable sales tax on meals is unacceptable:
A Sales Tax on Meals Takes Money from Restaurant Workers
Restaurant workers compete for tip income when taxes appear on receipts. Customers paying a sales tax on their meal will have less money to tip workers meaning less money for their families at the end of the day.
A Sales Tax on Meals is Unpredictable and Wrong
No industry was more negatively impacted by COVID-19 than the hospitality industry. Massive layoffs of employees, complete shutdowns or limited hours of operation, limits on indoor dining and increased prices or shortages from suppliers have all contributed to devastate the restaurant industry. During any economic downturn and with closures still happening, sales will decline and so will funding from this sales tax on meals.
A Sales Tax On Meals Will Impact Residents
The goal of this sales tax on meals is to tax visitors to Grants Pass but residents are the ones who will really pay. Residents will pay the sales tax on meals every time they go out to eat with friends and family unless they choose to stop patronizing local restaurants in favor of establishments outside the city limits.
A Sales Tax on Meals Is Unfair
Picking on a single industry like restaurants in Grants Pass and asking them to shoulder the burden for services everyone will use is unfair. A 3% sales tax on meals in Grants Pass is like asking one neighborhood to pay property taxes for the rest of the city.
A better solution would be an Economic Improvement District or similar mechanism where the burden of raising revenue falls more broadly than on just struggling local restaurants.