From the Indianapolis Business Journal:
The Fishers Chamber of Commerce and some individual business owners are on opposite sides of a debate over imposing a 1-percent food-and-beverage tax to help fund economic development efforts in the town.
More than a dozen people spoke out Tuesday night at the first of two public hearings on the proposal. Town Council members are expected to vote in early December.
The Indiana General Assembly passed a law this year allowing Fishers to enact the tax on food and beverages served in restaurants. The revenue, estimated to be $1.2 million annually, can only be used to fund local economic development or reduce the town’s property-tax rate.
Restaurateur Bill Smythe said the tax would cut into his profit margins.
“For me, it’s a very specific taxation on my business,” said Smythe, who owns Claude and Annie’s Food & Spirits on 141st Street in Fishers. “Once you’ve taxed me, you’re effectively taxing my employees.”
Smythe told the council he would be less opposed to the levy if the proceeds were used to lower property-tax rates instead of funding economic development projects.
Local Realtor Kurt Meyer, speaking on behalf of the Fishers Chamber, said the tax is needed to fund economic development—an important part of diversifying the town’s property tax base and attracting employers to Fishers.
“It’s a competitive world,” Meyer said. “Every time that one of these companies comes to look at Fishers, Indiana, they’re looking at not only our neighboring communities but they’re also looking at neighboring states.”
He was in the minority at the hearing, which drew about three dozen residents. Most who spoke opposed the tax, and many expressed skepticism about imposing the levy with no specific economic development projects on the horizon.
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See the full article here:
http://www.ibj.com/hearing-draws-lively-debate-on-fishers-food-and-drink-tax/PARAMS/article/44566
