Posted on 03/08/2005 2:40:06 PM PST by BansheeBill
Smoking ban worries turn to ashes: State tax figures show more people are eating out since law went into effect
By TOM BENNER
Patriot Ledger State House Bureau
BOSTON - By the best measures available, Massachusetts restaurants have seen business go up - not down - since a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants and bars went into effect July 5.
There had been predictions that the ban on smoking in all workplaces would drive people out of restaurants when they could no longer light up.
Restaurants collect a 5 percent tax on all meals, and the amount collected from the meals tax is the most frequently cited measure of the ups and downs of the restaurant industry. The more the state gets in meals taxes, the more people are eating out.
State Department of Revenue figures show meals tax receipts were up in each of the last six months of 2004 over the same period in 2003.
Meals tax receipts were up 10.6 percent percent in August - the first full month after the law took effect - over August 2003. They were up every month from August through December, when they were up 1.9 percent over December 2003. In all, more than half a billion dollars in meals taxes were collected in 2004.
While some in the restaurant industry feared the smoking ban would hurt business, ‘‘There's no evidence of that in these numbers,'' said Cam Huff, an analyst with the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. ‘‘It's one area in which the slowly improving economy seems to be doing very well.''
But some business owners said they had to spend money to get customers back after smokers were driven from restaurants and bars. A generally improving economy is also believed to be a factor in more people eating out.
Ed Morris, manager of the Fours restaurant in Quincy, said he finds it hard to believe that meals taxes are up.
‘‘We've somewhat of a decrease in business,'' Morris said, ‘‘but I think a lot of that is attributable to the increase in business we saw when Boston, Braintree and Weymouth went non-smoking and people came down here.''
Greg McDonald, part owner of the Chowder House and Cafe de Paris restaurants, Darcy's Pub and the Village Common Food Court in Quincy, said sales in the restaurant lounge and at the pub dropped immediately after the ban went into effect. Sales went back up, he said, but only after the owners spent money on high-definition TVs to attract new customers.
‘‘It cost us a substantial amount of money to get the business back to where it was before,'' McDonald said.
Food sales contribute far more to the meals tax receipts than sales of alcoholic beverages. Ninety percent of the $532 million in fiscal 2004 meals tax receipts came from the sale of prepared foods, while the tax on alcohol sales made up just 10 percent of those revenues, Huff said.
Gail Anastas, director of communications for the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, which represents some 5,000 food and beverage establishments, said she heard no complaints from the group's members about a drop-off in business after the smoking ban took effect.
‘‘We didn't get calls from members saying, ‘Help, I'm going out of business tomorrow,''' Anastas said.
If anything, restaurant owners like the uniformity of a statewide smoking ban, Anastas said. Until the law took effect, half of the association's members were in towns that had already enacted local smoking bans in public places, she said.
‘‘It kind of leveled the playing field for our members,'' she said. ‘‘Now, nobody has smoking the next town over.''
The ban that took effect last July 5 prohibits smoking in all workplaces, including private offices, taxis, restaurants and bars. Those who violate the new rule will face $100 fines. Businesses could be fined up to $300 if they ignore the law.
There are some exemptions to the law, such as private clubs, tobacco stores that prohibit anyone younger than 18 from entering, and motel and hotel rooms.
Some restaurateurs have complained that private clubs are robbing them of business by exploiting an exemption in the smoking ban for their members and guests. The law does not specifically define ‘‘member'' or ‘‘guest,'' and bar owners say some clubs are defining it so broadly that just about anyone can visit a club and light up.
Posted for informational and discussion purposes only. Not for commercial use.
Oooo - let's compare them to TWO WHOLE YEARS ago and pretend the economic uptrend had NOTHING to do with it!
THAT's the ticket!
Never mind. Last august was 2004. Adjusting calendar...
This is hilarious!
Can anyone else spot the frantic legerdemain used in this one paragraph to present the "results" desired?
I find it amazing that half a billion is collected in meals taxes per year. 6.5 million people divided into that is about $80 per capita.
ping
For one they are not comparing one year to another but mixing months compared to months and throwing in a yearly total. And one of those months december shows no real change after inflation is accounted for from the previous year.
Now they must find a new human foible to ban. Ah what an empty world it must be now for them. P.S. Non smoker myself. LOL
"They were up every month from August through December", implying that they were rising, but they were UP 10.6% in August and 1.9% in December.
If 6.5 million is the population of Messy Chew Sets, then you're not considering tourists.
A continuous set of figures, from, say, July 2001 to the present (including the economy as a whole) identifying tax revenues and spending generally, would identify clearly the probable correlations and make the BS crystal clear!
I have no clue either but I betcha there is a good amount of people no longer going dancing because they cant socially smoke there so they either stay at their house and party or find a place that is more open to unhealthy breathing habits...
If 6.5 million is the population of Messy Chew Sets, then you're not considering tourists.
And even discounting tourists, say the tax is about 10%, that's maybe $800 spent per person per year in restaurants. That doesn't sound very high to me. I'd expect most people spend more than that in restaurants each year.
However, I'd much rather government did not exist for the purpose of enacting my (or anyone else's) preferences into law. Private property used to mean something in this country. Anymore, we can't do anything without government permission.
The smoking ban in bars and restaurants is the best thing that ever happened to New York City.
Really! You like your city to be under the control of the government? You like BloomingIdiot?
Yeah ! I love not worrying about getting lung cancer when I walk into a restaurant !
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