VIRTUAL HEARING AT THE MN HOUSE TOMORROW: Bill to Delay Sales Tax for Restaurants

APPLE VALLEY CHAMBER NOTE: IF YOU ARE A RESTAURANT, TOMORROW AT 8:30 a.m. will be a VIRTUAL HOUSE HEARING ABOUT A BILL TO DELAY SALES TAX FOR RESTAURANTS. YOU CAN TESTIFY.

House Taxes Committee to hear bill delaying the period before a business gets “posted” for being late on liquor payments. The Committee will conduct a virtual hearing on Wednesday April 8 at 8:30 a.m. If you want to testify, contact ben@hospitalitymn.com by 1 p.m. on Tuesday.

Contact the committee members to let them know you support this bill (HF2693). Ask them to also support further delay or forgiveness for the sales tax remittance payments for April and May and to delay the May 15 property tax payments for at least 60 days. Let them know that our industry needs relief NOW if we are to survive the current crisis. Additional data you may wish to include:

The hospitality industry employs 300,000 Minnesotans and generates over $42 million in sales per day and 18% of the state’s sales tax during normal economic conditions
The American Hotel & Lodging Association reports that even prior to the “Stay-at-Home” Order, Minnesota’s hotel sector had lost 24,185 direct hotel-related jobs, with a total of 58,972 jobs lost supporting the hotel sector
The National Restaurant Association indicates that the restaurant industry lost an estimated $324 million in sales and more than 51,000 jobs during the first 22 days of March. Between March 23-26, the Association surveyed restaurants and found that in Minnesota, 3% of operators had already been forced to close permanently, and another 11% anticipated having to do so in the next month. These numbers pre-dated the “Stay-at-Home” Order and have undoubtedly been exacerbated within the last two weeks
Service industry employers are uniquely impacted by the current market conditions, as well as the “Stay-at-Home” and closure orders of last month. Their revenue is almost entirely dependent on human interactions, social events and the ability of their workers and guests to move about freely. There is no telework option for this industry. With the extremely limited exceptions of providing food to-go or limited lodging/shelter services to either long-term guests or the essential workers (truckers, etc.) that are still allowed to travel, hotels, resorts, campgrounds, and restaurants are effectively shut-down throughout Minnesota