Healey plans add to struggle for Mass. restaurants & hotels

If the Healey administration made Massachusetts as welcoming to businesses as it does to the influx of migrants, we might not be feeling the fallout of a revenue shortfall.

We have a “right to shelter,” how about a “right to thrive” for restaurants, hotels and others doing business in the Bay State?

Healey and Co. succeeded in ramping up the work authorization process for immigrants. Under Healey, anyone who attended a Massachusetts high school for three years is now eligible to receive in-state tuition and apply for state financial aid, documented or not. And Massachusetts residents can apply for a driver’s license, regardless of immigration status.

All these steps are to set immigrants and their families on the path to success.

But how about established businesses trying to get by or get ahead?

Healey threw spike strips on their path last week when she announced legislation allowing cities and towns to hike taxes on meals and hotel stays.

Healey’s plan calls for raising local taxes on meals by as much as 33% and on hotel stays by up to 15%. That’s just what the restaurant and hospitality industry in this state needs.

Massachusetts Restaurant Association CEO Steve Clark said he does not think increasing the meals tax is “necessary” because it is always indexed to inflation. As menu prices rise, so does the amount collected from the tax, he said.

“The vast majority of meals tax payers are residents and citizens of the towns. So why are we taking more money out of household budgets when budgets are strapped right now?” Clark told the Herald.

Because taking more money out of household budgets is a revenue stream, and Massachusetts wants it.

There will be consequences in addition to people thinking twice about going out for a nice dinner.

Massachusetts, and Boston in particular, pitches itself as a prime spot for conventions. The city took a hit during the pandemic, but business is coming back. But there’s a new problem.

Milt Herbert, executive director of the Boston Convention Marketing Center said last week that the city is short of the number of hotel rooms it needs near the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, the State House News Service reported.

“We don’t have enough hotel inventory that’s approximate to the BCEC,” Herbert said. “We are short compared to most other cities that we usually, typically compete against.”

And Boston is one of the most expensive cities to hold conventions in, he said, partially driven by hotel prices. “We’re regularly dealing with customers into the future where the rate barometer is $350 a night, that’s what our customers are signing contracts for. And San Diego is not saying that. San Francisco is not saying that. Dallas and Houston are not saying that.”

Add a spike in taxes on meals and hotel stays, and Massachusetts gives convention planners more reasons to add us to the “maybe” pile.

Restaurant and hotel owners aren’t the enemy, they provide jobs for residents and revenue to cities and the state. And they do it in a tough, competitive climate.

Healey should do at least as much for people and businesses who’ve hung on through hard times and are trying to thrive as she does for those who’ve arrived looking for a better future.