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Senate committee advances bill to tax ‘restaurant-like’ food uniformly
Summary
A Senate committee voted unanimously to substitute and favorably recommend Senate Bill 91, which narrows how Utah defines "restaurant food" and would require food sold by grocery-store food service counters and similar operations to be taxed like standalone restaurants.
Senator Lincoln Fillmore, sponsor of Senate Bill 91, told the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on Feb. 3 that the bill aims to “treat like products similarly in the marketplace” by clarifying what counts as restaurant food and closing loopholes that let some businesses avoid the restaurant tax.
The bill matters because Utah currently taxes food at three different rates: a low grocery "food" tax for typical grocery purchases; a "prepared food" rate equal to the general sales tax for ready-to-eat prepared items; and an extra 1 percent restaurant tax charged at most restaurants. Fillmore said that identical items can be taxed differently depending on…
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