Lynn council nixes meals tax idea

LYNN – With support from the 87-member Lynn Restaurant Association, Councilor-at-large Daniel Cahill is taking the lead to ensure the city does not impose a meals tax.Cahill on Tuesday made a motion before the City Council in general opposition to a local meals tax. The motion received unanimous endorsement.”Now is not the time. A local meals tax makes no sense at all,” he said, noting that new restaurants have begun to flourish in the city. “We don’t want to give people a reason not to come to eat in Lynn.”‘Gov. Deval Patrick in 2007 proposed the idea of giving communities the ability to impose meal taxes and other local surcharges as a way to reduce the state budget deficit. Restaurateurs stood opposed. The measure passed the Legislature in August 2009. Some communities imposed the local tax.”It’s a bad thing and I wouldn’t be in favor of it,” state Rep. Robert Fennell and owner of the Capitol Diner said at the time. “Small businesses like mine and many others around the commonwealth are struggling, as are the medium-sized restaurants. It’s like when there was talk brought up about a smoking ban. If you increase your local meals tax and your neighbors don’t, it becomes turf warfare among neighboring towns over who is charging more.”A two-percent local meals tax added to the state’s 6.25-percent sales tax translates to an additional $2 in taxes on a $100 restaurant dinner bill.”How many mom-and-pop restaurants can afford that, especially if they are struggling? They aren’t like the big restaurants up on the highways in Peabody and Saugus. This is a tough economy. People are paying more for home heating fuel, gasoline for their cars and for energy like electric,” Fennell said. “These costs are taking big chunks out of weekly paychecks, so there’s not much left for people to go out and spend on lunch and dinner. If you add another local tax to that, the people who come to my diner maybe three times a week for breakfast or lunch might come only twice.”