Local: New restaurant tax is hard to swallow
Now that Gov. Rod Blagojevich has given his permission, the Peoria County Board is going to have to decide whether to let taxpayers decide whether to tax restaurants to raise money to build the downtown museum.
My two cents: This was supposed to be built with private donations. But the people who have the money to toss at this project have voted no, but not donating enough of their money.
So, they are trying to do what all democracies do: Let the majority of voters decide whether everyone ought to pay for this thing, whether they want to or not.
If successful, it will work like the City of Peoria’s Hotel, Restaurant and Amusement Tax works. Every time someone goes into a restaurant to buy a Happy Meal or something off the Dollar Menu, some portion of what they pay is going to go toward paying for this project.
And here’s the funny thing about the HRA tax. It was sold to taxpayers as a way to BUILD the Peoria Civic Center. Those original bonds have long been paid off. The tax is still there, of course, being used to pay for countless renovations as well as propping up other economic development schemes. It will never go away, because the PCC will never be self sufficient. It will always require taxpayer support, giving lie to the assertions is helps build Peoria’s economy.
So in addition to having a situation in which little old ladies, single mothers and homeless people pay to support events at the Peoria Civic Center they cannot afford to attend, they also will have to pay for a a museum project that’s being driven by Caterpillar’s desire for a museum to accompany it’s own attached welcoming center.
But there’s no doubt that the County Board will put this on the referendum, because I doubt the there’s a majority of the board with the testicular fortitude to say “no” to Caterpillar. And no doubt Caterpillar surrogates will spend the following months predicting that Caterpillar will pull up stakes and move elsewhere is the vote fails.
That’s the way things work in Peoria.
Feh.
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
Billy: have always respected your blog and comments-however, I do not agree with your statement that Caterpillar desires its own museum-why would they? Think about it, how many tractors, etc. do they sell in this area? They have said they will build theirs only if the other folks, (public) builds theirs. Cat could easily buy the land on the riverfront and put one up of their own, but that’s not their thinking. People in this area badmouth Cat so much without realizing that without Cat it would be goodnight, turnout the lights. I have no connection with Cat but read the lines and between the lines. Generations of Peoria area folks, past, present and future owe whatever they have to Cat, and we better appreciate it. The museum idea is ridiculous, but not brought forward by Cat. Let’s get on with something in that block that we all can take advantage of make use of.
November 22nd, 2008 at 11:49 am
Maybe I am wrong, but I don’t believe this is a restaurant tax. The proposal is for a general sales tax, not an addition to the HRA tax.
November 22nd, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I think it’s easier to swallow if taxing is equal across the board Billy. It seems that low income families with children get all the breaks where upper class residents and childless families have to bear the brunt of tax increases. Yet they want an equal say in how our money gets spent. That’s wrong no matter how you slice it. I’m not opposed to the museum; I’d just like to see a few less hands trying to reach into my pocket. I’d rather see the taxes on the happy meal than on the property taxes. I’m tired of being penalized because I own my home as opposed to living in section 8 housing or renting. At least with the happy meals being taxed it’s not falling solely on the home owner’s shoulders. Go ahead tax the happy meal; just leave my double shot latte alone. Think that will happen?
I will put this out there for you though Billy….
Assuming that the museum does what they hope it will (though I have little faith in it) and brings more business to the area. More business translates to more revenues; more revenues means more jobs… Don’t you see how that could benefit single moms and the homeless? Besides, the homeless rarely buy their coffee at McDonalds they’re more apt to line up at a soup kitchen and get it for free. We have enough low income citizens taking a ride on our shoulders Billy, let them pay their fair share. Besides their percentage will not add up to anywhere near what ours will be. If there’s going to be a tax let it be one that’s shared.
Still love me?
Christi
November 22nd, 2008 at 12:04 pm
The HRA is added on top of the base sales tax, so if they get their .25 increase your total tax on Hotels, Restaurants, and Amusements will be 10.25%, fast approaching Chicago and very out of whack for what other municipalities in the area charge.
November 22nd, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Wow Christi, that was about as cold-hearted a post as I’ve seen recently. I understand the desire to have everyone pull their own weight, but to outright denigrate and belittle an entire economic class is pretty low class regardless of which one you claim to be from. And from an argument analysis standpoint, you shouldn’t make a claim like “tax McD’s because all the poor people eat there” and follow it up with “they don’t eat at McD’s anyway because they are so poor they eat at the soup kitchen”. It really just removes all doubt that the purpose of the post was to attack those less privileged.
If you are in fact from the upper echelon’s of Peoria society like you seem to claim, then you likely went to college and got a decent education. Hopefully at college you also learned that you shouldn’t stereotype people. I hope no unfortunate economic hardships befall your family because God knows, with people like you out there you’d likely be left starving and cold on the side of the road.
November 22nd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
This is why people move across the river.
November 22nd, 2008 at 4:11 pm
“I understand the desire to have everyone pull their own weight, but to outright denigrate and belittle an entire economic class is pretty low class regardless of which one you claim to be from.”
Moreover, a little knowledge of tax policy would inform her that sales tax is functionally regressive (though flat in intent), falling disproportionately on lower-income and lower-wealth members of the community. They WILL be paying more than their “fair share.”
@Christie: “I’m tired of being penalized because I own my home as opposed to living in section 8 housing or renting.”
Simple solution to that: Don’t own a home. Oh, wait, that would require you to give up the massive basket of tax breaks home ownership comes with, breaks that aren’t available to renters.
November 22nd, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Eyebrows – I beg to differ. The only tax breaks for homeowners are the real estate taxes and the interest portion of their mortgage payment, IF they itemize.
Many families discover that their standard exemption exceeds these itemized costs, so effectively, for many, it has no impact.
I realize that being a Realtor, I should technically not be arguing that point as it seems counter-intuitive. But to me the greater good is that homebuyers have a full understanding of the consequences of home ownership, whatever that may be.
November 22nd, 2008 at 5:01 pm
FYI The city of Pekin is considering a two percent restaurant tax. It has been discussed at the staff level but has not yet been put on the agenda for the council.
If you really want to defeat this, this is wahat you do. You go to the Board meeting with two packages. One is a take out meal from Avanti’s or some other prominentlocally owned business, the other is from Swinger’s World. You mention that the Swinger’s World is taxed at a lower rate than a meal for a family. No politician will vote to tax a spaghetti dinner at a higher rate than a sex toy. And I bet no one will ever bring it up again.
November 22nd, 2008 at 6:52 pm
RomanII said: “The museum idea is ridiculous, but not brought forward by Cat. Let’s get on with something in that block that we all can take advantage of make use of.”
THANK YOU.
In Bloomington, we just went through this debacle. A large majority (over 70%) of the voters passed a referendum against the US Cellular Coliseum. Of course, the council ignored that referendum and voted to build it anyway. The thing’s been swimming in red ink ever since.
Then, the citizenry gets criticized for not supporting a facility THAT WE SAID WE DIDN’T WANT IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Just goes to show you the kind of influence that politically connected developers and construction companies wield.
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:43 pm
From the Seattle Times:
“Among homeowners nationwide, an estimated one-half itemize, but one-third of all homeowners have no mortgage debt against their property, and therefore do not claim mortgage interest as a deduction.”
And those without mortgages are also not paying any interest either. Their net cash flow is higher even if their taxes paid are higher than those itemizing.
November 22nd, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Also, let’s not pretend that renters don’t pay property tax. They might not write a check directly to the gov’t, but they write it to their landlord, who then writes a check to the gov’t. Owning rental property is an investment. Property tax is part of the plan, and I would guess that most landlord do quite fine in the end.
The rest of Christi’s inanity was handled well by 11Bravo. Truly a pathetic statement.
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Basket full of tax breaks for homeowners? Where the heck are they? I’ve been missing the boat all this time. Geesh all these years I’ve been paying on my home and nobody told me about this. Thanks a lot.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:37 am
Has anyone considered that Christi may be engaging in satire?