Dishing up support for meals tax

Mayor Thomas M. Menino, frustrated that an initiative to raise meals taxes in Boston restaurants is once again languishing in the Legislature, launched a new strategy yesterday and turned to some unlikely allies for help: high-profile restaurateurs including Kenneth Oringer of Clio in the Back Bay, Gordon Hamersley of Hamersley's Bistro in the South End, and Nick Varano of Strega Restaurant in the North End.

The mayor hosted about 40 restaurateurs at a private briefing at the Parkman House, where he pleaded for their support and made the case that restaurants would benefit from a tax increase because it would lead to a reduction in commercial and residential property taxes, aides said.

That would leave restaurateurs paying less to lease or own property and residents having more disposable income to eat out, they said. The mayor said his proposal to raise meals taxes 1 percent would reduce the average residential tax bill by $200. He didn't specify savings for commercial taxpayers.

The mayor also pointed to the bustling restaurant industries in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, where meals taxes range from 8.5 percent to 10.3 percent. Menino's proposal would make Boston's meals tax 6 percent.

"I was surprised by the receptive mood they were in," Menino said after the meeting. "Nobody said, 'This is going to kill our business.' "

Several restaurant owners vowed to help the mayor and signed a letter to legislators pledging their support. Chris Douglas, owner and chef of ICARUS in the South End and Ashmont Grill in Dorchester, said he was opposed to the additional tax before meeting with Menino.

"I was concerned about how it would affect revenue," he said.

But when he heard about the commercial tax savings, he signed on, he said, adding, "It'll help me in my business."

Menino's effort comes as the Massachusetts Restaurant Association prepares to launch an offensive, inviting members to a luncheon today to plot its "largest political grass-roots effort of the year" against meals taxes. The association, which says the industry is unfairly being singled out for tax increases, planned to have members meet with legislators after the luncheon, according to the association's website.

"Tell your legislators to just say no to proposals that would impose an additional 1 to 3 percent tax on restaurant meals," the website states. The group did not return calls for comment yesterday.

Both Menino and Governor Deval Patrick have proposals pending in the Legislature that would allow cities and towns to increase taxes on dining out. The state currently assesses a 5 percent meals tax. Patrick's initiative would give cities and towns permission to levy an additional tax of between 1 and 3 percent that would go to the municipalities. Both bills have been under consideration by the Legislature's Revenue Committee since April 10.

The mayor has tried unsuccessfully for several years to get such legislation passed and had renewed hope this year with a Democrat as governor. In 2002, a bill made it through the Legislature but was vetoed by Acting Governor Jane Swift. Now, House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi has said he is not supporting the bill. Unless the mayor and governor lobby successfully, it may never leave the Revenue Committee.

A spokesman for DiMasi said the speaker would rather pass legislation allowing municipal workers to join the state health and pension systems, which could cut benefit costs for cities and towns. "He thinks the first option should be to help communities save money," spokesman David Guarino said.

Restaurateurs at the Parkman House nibbled on thinly sliced cucumber and crab salad as the city's chief financial officer presented the mayor's case in a series of handouts with bar graphs and charts showing the $12 billion restaurant industry's growth in recent years.

Since 1998, state revenue from meals taxes has skyrocketed from $392 million in 1998 to $632 million in fiscal 2008 and has enjoyed healthy gains every year, even through the recession of 2002, the handouts say. Boston could raise some $20 million in revenue.

A few restaurant owners had concerns about how the proposed increase might affect low-income diners, but Menino said paying a few cents extra is unlikely to affect those customers.

Varano, of Strega, called Menino's proposal a win-win solution and predicted other restaurateurs would back him. saying, "How can you really not support it?"

Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.