Communities consider local-option taxes

A number of communities across the state this spring will be considering the adoption of local taxes on meals and lodging, options that can provide an additional source of local revenue.

The fiscal 2010 state budget law authorized communities to add three-quarters of 1 percent onto restaurant tabs and up to 2 percent onto the room occupancy excise rate.

As of mid-April, 102 communities have adopted one or both of the local-option taxes, according to the Department of Revenue. The rooms excise increase has been adopted by 73 municipalities, while 76 have adopted the meals tax.

In Haverhill, Mayor James Fiorentini is supporting the meals tax, which is scheduled to go to the City Council on May 25. According to Department of Revenue estimates, the tax would raise $400,000 a year for the city.

A group of local officials on the North Shore have been working together to support the local-option taxes as a region.

“To keep from having to do unconscionable things to our level of services, we need these dollars,” Beverly Mayor Bill Scanlon, the current president of the MMA, told the Salem News.

According to published reports, communities considering local-option taxes this month include Eastham, Hamilton, Harwich, Haverhill, Orleans and Yarmouth. If adopted, the taxes would become effective on July 1.

For more information about the local-option taxes, visit www.mass.gov/dls and click on Municipal Date Bank, then Data Bank Reports and Local Options.