Eateries fail to get a bite of Hill pie

By Brice Wallace
Deseret Morning News
Published: Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007 12:34 a.m. MST
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Having found the appetizer distasteful, a Senate committee on Monday still could not digest a substitute bill that would provide funding to promote the state's restaurant industry.

The latest version of SB68 calls for 3 percent of the 1 percent Tourism, Recreation, Cultural and Convention Facilities Tax collected by restaurants in first- and second-class counties to be used by the state commissioner of agriculture and food to promote dining out. The figure is expected to be about $700,000 per year.

An earlier version sought 10 percent of the 1 percent tax statewide, or about $3.3 million annually, for the Utah Restaurant Association to promote the state's restaurants.

But after hearing several proponents and opponents of the bill, the Senate Workforce Services and Community and Economic Development Committee adjourned Monday's meeting without a vote. Minority Caucus Manager Pat Jones, D-Holladay, moved for adjournment, saying the bill and its monetary figures were new and that she wanted to get input from committee members absent from the meeting.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, continued to say the promotion would result in higher tax revenues for the state. "This is a win-win scenario," he said. "A 4.5 percent increase in restaurant use as a result of this promotion would generate about $1.3 million (in TRCC taxes)."

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Other supporters echoed that comment. Mont Evans of the Utah Restaurant Association said the taxes that have been collected by restaurants have been used for things "that don't benefit the restaurant industry." He also noted that rural counties do not oppose the bill. "They don't have to pay the tax, but they will share the benefits from it," Evans said.

Tom Guinney of the restaurant company Gastronomy Inc. said small restaurant operators would benefit the most from the promotion. "This is not about tourism," he said. "This is about stimulating our citizens in the state of Utah."

Greg Gruber, owner of Salt Lake restaurants and chairman of the restaurant association, called the $700,000 "a pittance." If restaurants cannot benefit from the tax they collect, perhaps they should not be taxed, he said.

But Wayne Jones, executive director of the Salt Lake Valley Lodging Association, said he worries that other entities would seek similar legislation to secure part of the TRCC tax money. He suggested that a restaurant-promotion move would cause a "dilution" in tourism tax revenues.

Barbara Riddle, president and chief executive officer of the Davis Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, also spoke against the need to "legislate guaranteed funding" that would be attractive to entities such as the hotel and lodging association.

Brent Gardner, representing the Utah Association of Counties, said the legislation is not needed, noting that a few counties already are providing funds to help with restaurant promotion. "I think it's something that clearly can be handled at the local level," he said.

E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com

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