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1 Jared Walczak, Punching the Meal Ticket: Local Option Meals Taxes in the States 1 (2017)

handle is hein.taxfoundation/punmltck0001 and id is 1 raw text is: TAXO FOUNDATION FISCAL FACT No. 538 Jan. 2017 Punching the Meal Ticket: Local Option Meals Taxes in the States By Jared Walczak Policy Analyst Key Findings Meals taxes are special taxes that apply to purchases of prepared foods for immediate consumption, and not just to meals eaten in a restaurant. They do not, however, apply to groceries or other non-prepared foods. Twenty states and the District of Columbia authorize meals taxes. Of these, 17 exclusively authorize local option meals taxes, one imposes a state meals tax and provides for local option meals taxes, and three only collect meals taxes at the state or District-wide level. Three states require voter approval to adopt meals taxes, while sixteen states and the District of Columbia levy meals taxes statutorily or permit localities to adopt them by ordinance. Rates are typically, but not always, capped. Meals taxes introduce complexity, place local restaurants at a competitive disadvantage, and fail the benefit test of public finance, where the cost of a tax is incurred by those receiving the services funded by that tax. Voters frequently reject meals taxes when they are placed on the ballot. The Tax Foundation is the nation's leading independent tax policy research organization. Since 1937, our research, analysis, and experts have informed smarter tax policy at the federal, state, and local levels. We are a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. ©2017 Tax Foundation Distributed under Creative Commons CC BY NC 4.0 Editor, Rachel Shuster Designer, Dan Carvajal Tax Foundation 1325 G Street, NW, Suite 950 Washington, DC 20005 202.464.6200 taxfoundation.org

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