The Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce and Business Association Board of Directors strongly opposes any type of meals tax in Jacksonville.
We support the decisions made by our elected officials and the other volunteers who serve on the Budget Committee—all of whom are Jacksonville residents. Funding public safety services is a complex issue and takes a great deal of time to work through. We are confident that the varied factors were addressed in the decision to impose the surcharge instead of a meals tax. They also determined the meals tax concept was the wrong approach for solving the revenue problem in Jacksonville.
Jacksonville’s vibrant downtown core is heavily reliant on visitors. Not just overnight visitors, but even more so on those from the surrounding communities who come in for shorter stays to enjoy a meal, shopping, wine tasting or concerts.
We would not have the diversity of restaurants and shops without the patronage of these visitors. A meals tax would place the city at an unfair economic disadvantage compared to its neighbors. Potential visitors would choose other cities for recreation, shopping and dining. And the end result would be that Jacksonville residents would have fewer restaurants and shops.
The local business community takes pride in providing services to the residents and visitors and hopes we will be able to continue doing so in the future.
Robert Roos, President
Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce & Business Association Board of Directors