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(Continued from Page 1) lies, with taxes paid separately on the applicable schedules for each portion of the business.
An advantage to the business tax, Mr. Dickey pointed out, is that it is collected in advance, thus eliminating the “seasonal vagaries” of a tax based on restaurant or lodging receipts. The town would know, in advance, how much money it has for each fiscal year.
By setting different tax rates, Mr. Dickey maintained, MI think they meant to tell us something: Don’t tax these businesses to death’.”
“It (the business tax) is such a little bite, no one is going to fight. The maximum tax on restaurants (based on gross receipts) is 20 cents per $100, or onefifth of one percent. The maximum tax on lawyers,” he quipped, “I’m not going to tell.”
“I think this is fair, I think this can work. The alternative would endanger The Inn.”
In restaurants, he maintained, customers don’t look at the bill and figure what percentage of the total is tax. They merely look at the total, and at some point, “You say This place is too expensive,’ and you don’t go back... Round 8Vfe to 10 percent, and you go home and eat. That would happen.”
Speaking for his clients, Mr. Dickey added, They don’t mind paying their fair share, but they don’t want to risk their livelihood .. . Restaurants have a low profit margin. They spend a lot of money getting the best ingredients, quality labor, to make the meal worth eating.
“If you saddle them with an 8V2 percent tax (4V4 percent state sales tax, 4 percent town tax) they are going to lose some. They may move - or maybe not. What will happen with The Black Kettle and Brambles?”
Joan St. Clair, owner of The Black Kettle, posed a “hypothetical question” to the council. “What happens if the one or two businesses you plan to tax are not here? If it is so targeted, instead of making money you’ll lose money.”
“I’m tired of collecting taxes,” she continued. “I collect taxes for Virginia; and now for Washington. I resent it The harder I work toe behinder I get
“I’ve seen things go from bad to worse: people aren’t going to Skyline Drive, people are leaving - not coming, it’a a dying town."
Jim Thomasson suggested that if the council eventually decides to adopt a restaurant tax, it should be extended to include the bed and breakfast establishments.
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