Many find higher meals tax unappetizing

The Union Leader reports that the increase in the Rooms and Meals Tax is being felt one penny at a time:

For the regulars at Granny Judy's Kitchen, a small diner on Franklin's North Main Street where the dress code includes Carhartts and a hard hat, even a 1 percent hike in the rooms and meals tax has meant cutting back.

Owner Yvon Cloutier said the higher tax, passed last month and put into effect on July 1, has meant some customers are choosing not to order a large orange juice or an extra egg.

In turn, Cloutier, who has a profit margin of about 10 percent, and his servers have seen their take-home earnings drop over the last few weeks.

"The state is beginning to make just as much as me, but I'm the one who is getting up at 4:30 in the morning and out the door by five," Cloutier said. "I'm the one who is putting in the 11-hour days. I'm the cook, I'm the server, I'm the dishwasher, and in five minutes I'm going to be mopping the floor."

I often buy coffee at White Mountain Coffee down the alley from our office. Last month, a large coffee cost $2.00. Now it costs $2.02. I will try to temper my personal annoyance at the Rooms and Meals Tax hike as we continue to report on its effects.