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Burgaw food tax

Submitted by WWAY on Thu, 05/29/2008 - 5:25pm.READ MORE:
Eating out in Burgaw may be getting a little more expensive. The town is one step closer to taxing diners who frequent Burgaw restaurants. The tax will add one percent to the total bill at all Burgaw eateries. Senator R.C. Soles hopes to introduce a bill proposing the tax during this summer's legislative session. Town officials say the revenue collected will go toward attracting tourists to Burgaw. Still, many local restaurants oppose the tax. They are not convinced it will be good for business. Emily Bryant, who works at Courthouse Coffee, said, "I just think restaurants should be trying to assist restaurants being established, rather than discouraging that." Bryant said more often than not, new restaurants in Burgaw don't make it. The town manager said that's because there's not enough demand and if more people visited, then demand for new restaurants will increase.

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And on the real side of things...

Submitted by Parker (not verified) on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 10:43am.
Seriously, is saving the 6 cents on your McDonald's combo meal worth spending the gas to drive to Wallace or Wilmington? Would you even bother to investigate how much those localities tax the restaurants? A 1% tax isn't going to be a decision on whether people eat in Burgaw or not. That choice will most likely be determined by food choice, convenience or another reason for being in Burgaw in the first place.
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That's not the point.

Submitted by tired of taxes (not verified) on Sat, 06/07/2008 - 4:31am.
That's not the point. Burgaw's answer to everything is tax the locals, tax the landowners, tax the tourist, tax, tax, tax. Burgaw's town council is very controlling. What happened to the food chains that were moving in where the Pizza Village was? Exactly, I'll eat elsewhere thank you very much.
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Oh, great justification for increasing taxes...

Submitted by Commonsensenotc... on Sun, 06/01/2008 - 9:08am.
"Because we can - we have a captive audience." You (and they) also underestimate the number of people who are working a route (delivery drivers, repairmen, visiting healthcare, etc) who WILL wait to go to Wallace or Wilmington to have lunch. It may only be a nickel or dime more for lunch, but I assure you that many people will skip Burgaw purely out of principle. They are getting fed up with the tax, tax, tax mentality, especially when it comes to local, municipal taxes that seem to disappear into the pockets of local politicians and their cronies, producing absolutely nothing for the average taxpayer. It's like the Cape Fear region is copying the Russian experience of a post-Communist oligarchy.
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I agree

Submitted by WilmMan on Mon, 06/02/2008 - 11:02am.
I agree....a 1% tax increase is not that much, but as I drive past Burgaw I will continue to Wilmington to eat instead of stopping in Burgaw. It seems like a politicians answer to everything is to raise taxes.....and if they really think we believe them when they say the extra income will go back to the community
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Exactly how stupid do you have to be....

Submitted by Uncle Reality on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 9:02am.
...to believe that raising taxes is going to attract more people to visit and dine out in Burgaw? "Golly Marge, we still have $80 left over from our vacation. Next time....let's go visit Burgaw!" While I'm in the mood for rhetorical questions, would anyone care to field this one: Why can't small, quaint towns be content to remain small quaint towns that grow naturally? What's with all this push for accelerated, unnatural growth? We've seen it destroy Wilmington and most of New Hanover County. We're seeing it destroy Hampstead and Shallotte right now. Why does Burgaw need to "attract" anything? Why can't it just be Burgaw?
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Open a hamburger restaurant

Submitted by Guest 2008 (not verified) on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 8:03am.
Open a hamburger restaurant there called "Burgeraw"... They'll come for the novelty of it :-) Case closed!
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I eat at home anyway as I

Submitted by Guest3750 (not verified) on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 12:20am.
I eat at home anyway as I can have much better food at a much better price. Been to Burgaw many times, nothing there to offer anyway.
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food tax

Submitted by dennis (not verified) on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 11:29pm.
I work in Burgaw and I believe if this food tax gets established it will drive people to other places to eat. If you go out to lunch every day you can visit every restaurant in about ten days. The only reason new restaurants do not succeed is because nobody with the town promotes them and the town also makes it hard on new businesses to come into the town.
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Well...

Submitted by Guest7969 (not verified) on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 4:12pm.
looks like I won't be eating in Burgaw anymore...
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I won't be voting for Soles either

Submitted by Guest I won't either (not verified) on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 10:45pm.
Seems this is his standard 'progressive' stance on this he thinks this state needs more of. Gimme a Dem that will note support higher/more taxes and they have my vote!
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They will lose my money

Submitted by troch (not verified) on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 3:35pm.
Already we have to travel to eat somewhere else because there are not enough choices in Burgaw as far as restaurants. So if we have to pay more to eat there I will just continue to go else were. Like Wallace or Wilmington. This really doesn't make since to me to raise taxes to get people to come and eat at Burgaw. As an American we all know what are goverment says they are going to do with the tax money but we never really see it. Check Soles records he has done this before and never did what he said the tax was proposed for. He must be looking to get a new car or something. As we see in the news today are leaders stealing money from are taxes to benefit them. Filling up there cars to working them in there yards.
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I have never liked this kind

Submitted by Guest440 (not verified) on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 3:00pm.
I have never liked this kind of tax. An accomodations tax is one thing because people staying in a motel or hotel receive services while they are there. If they have an accident or someone steals something from them, the police handle it like they would for a resident. But penalizing travelers and residents for stopping to eat in a restaurant, is going too far. I used to frequent a place near Little River, SC until they started charging this tax. I have not been back in years. I do not think it is fair to punish folks for eating out. If such a tax is started, I will eat at home a lot more. 1% is small, but it is the principle of it.
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