NEW: Newport Chamber Votes Against Governor’s 2% Tax Increase
Friday, March 02, 2012
The Newport County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has voted against the proposed passage of the 2% increase in the Meals and Beverage tax contained in the Governor’s 2013 budget.
“Newport and Rhode Island are destinations,” Jody Sullivan, the Executive Director of the Chamber stated. “Conferences, events, and weddings look for destinations. While 2% may not seem like much on a $50 dinner tab, 2% on a $50,000 convention or wedding means the difference between choosing RI or Cape Cod, Mystic, or even Orlando, or Charleston for that matter.”
The 2% proposed increase would bring the Rhode Island meals and beverage tax to 10% and make it even more difficult to compete in an already competitive market. The hospitality industry is one of the few areas experiencing growth as the state muddles its way out of the long economic recession. The Board of Directors held that placing yet another tax increase on the already over-taxed industry would harm the hospitality quarter, without addressing the actual problems with the state's economic woes.
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