Here we go again. A resuscitated proposal (it was defeated in March, 2020) to implement a Local Option Tax (LOT) is on the ballot on Waitsfield Town Meeting Day this year. It was turned down by the voters in 2020 and should be defeated again.
There has been little public discussion about this tax, but it’s clear that the the people who go to meetings want you to pay higher taxes so they can have slush funds to spend on their special projects. The purpose of this tax proposal is not to raise revenue from the citizens of Waitsfield and The Valley for public services we need, but rather this is being driven by a small group of people who want to tax us to provide themselves with funds for their favorite projects. In 2020 Sal Spinosa, a member of the Waitsfield Select Board, at the time, was very clear in his January 22 piece on Front Porch Forum when he wrote, “It is apparent that they (the promoters) believe in themselves and their objective and are working very hard to convince you and me.”
In the September 25 edition of The Valley Reporter, George Dorsey, owner of the Pitcher Inn and The Warren Store said, “the Pitcher Inn and The Warren Store… have been profitable only one month out of the past 60.” The Valley Reporter reports George Schenk, American Flatbread, said at a recent select board meeting, “The restaurant business and hospitality already pay a 50% sales tax premium.” He noted that meals are taxed at 9% and alcohol at 10%, compared with the 6% general sales tax. He questioned whether the original rationale – that dining out is a luxury – still applies. Schenk argued that sales taxes are collected from businesses, rather than directly from visitors “For every $100 we bring in we have to deliver $109 of value.”
The restaurant business is very hard. I have lived in The Valley for 37 years and have seen many restaurants come and go. The people who go to meetings would have you believe that somehow restaurants are the goose that laid the golden egg, but the reality is very different.
Case in point, look at Page 44 of the 2024 Waitsfield Annual Report, Current Delinquent Tax List – the first delinquent is Blue Stone Holding, LLC – owing $4,133.32 in back taxes. Bluestone was a popular restaurant, and most people would assume it was profitable.
It is not clear what this proposed tax will cover, but it appears that it is being promoted as something tourists will pay for. But what about those of us who live here full time and regularly shop at Bisbee’s, Mehuron’s, Kenyons, or our other local stores, and who would occasionally like to go out to eat at some of our great local restaurants. Let’s face it, there are lots of out-of-town visitors here for some very busy weeks and weekends, but out of 52 weeks a year it amounts to maybe 10% of the year. The remaining 90% of the year Waitsfield residents will have to pay an extra tax and local businesses will have to collect it.
The bottom line is that we live in a great state that we love, but it is very expensive to live here. Depending on the data source, Vermont has the fifth or second highest cost of education per student and the first or eighth highest health care costs in the nation.
Until some of these issues are addressed and the costs are lowered, I don’t think we need to add to our tax burden to give the people who go to meetings some more money to play with.
Get out and vote no LOT on March 3. Understand that you have the power and your vote counts.
Boylan lives in Waitsfield.
