Campaign against restaurant tax begins
By Darafyn Trappe
Emerald Associate Editor
Opponents of a proposed Eugene restau
rant tax that will be voted on March 2.'t
kicked off a campaign Tuesday In an effort to
defeat what thev call an "inoouitable tax."
RESTAURANT TAX
Meanwhile. Kayo Robi
nette. president of the
Eugene City Council, said
he anticipates that resi
dents will approve the tax
and pointed out that 73
percent of respondents to
1991s extensive Eugene
Decisions survey favored
a restaurant tax over four
other tax options.
Measure 20-02. as it will be referred to on
the ballot, would implement a 3 percent tax
on prepared meals purchased from restau
rants, diners, cafeterias, delicatessens, push
carts, athletic concession stands, bars, tav
erns and caterers.
Certain vendors would l>e exempt, such as
residential facilities and campus dormito
ries.
If approved, the tax would go into effect
|an. 1, 1004 It was referred to the voters by
the City Council as part of an effort to deflect
an expected SO million budget shortfall for
1003-04 The tax would generate an estimat
ed $5.3 million annually in gross revenue for
the first five years.
Cretchen Hull Pierce and Greg Evans, co
chairperson* of Citizens Against Selective
Sales Tax, which is supported by several
local restaurants and the Oregon Restaurants
Asstx iation. said at a Tuesday news confer
ence the tax would unfairly affect low
income residents and small businesses
"We believe that it's simply wrong to tax
food in general. And this tax is an attempt to
support broad-based public, services with a
very narrow industry that's heen targeted for
this tax," Pierr e said "We believe that's sim
ply not fair ."
The tax would affect smull businesses
I localise, for example, a sandwich purchased
from a restaurant or a sub shop would he
subject to the tax, hut a sandwich purchased
in a supermarket would not lie. Pien e said.
Evans said the tax would unfairly affect
low-income residents because the same
amount would he charged to each patron,
despite their income.
"This is not a luxury tax," he said " This
is a tax that will hit [>eop1e on low and fixed
incomes, such as senior citizens More than
a quarter of the seniors in the community eat
prepared meals, some because they are not
able to prepare their own meals or don’t
have the facilities to."
Households with an annual income of less
than $5,000 spend 41.5 percent of their total
food budget oil meals purchased away from
home. Evans said, and the average for nil
households is 42.:i percent Households
headed by seniors, with a $5,000 to $10,000
annual budget, spend nearly a quarter of
their total food budget on meals purchased
away from home, he said
If 20*02 passes, low-income people will !«■
charg'd a total of SI? 11 during the course of
a year for meals, Evans said
"This is very debilitating if you are a per
son on a fixed income, or a low budget." he
said Both he and Pierce support a progres
sive income tax. which was favored by only
about 25 portent of Eugene Decisions
respondents
Robinette said his impression is that the
restaurant tax will pass bi« auxn it is a kind
of tax people i an have< ontrol over All res
iderits can make n choice about whether they
can afford to eat out and where, he said
Robinette said the respondents to Eugene
Decisions were given a signifu ant amount of
information about the city's financial situa
110(1
”The\ responded not hecnuse someone
simply asked them a question, but came to
their'responses as the result of having gone
through a process and understanding the
financial problems." Robinette said "They
told us, 'Ok. if we have to have a tax, this is
what we'd prefer "
Pierce said she believes people responded
that way out of the mistaken notion that a
restaurant tax is something that "other pen
pie" will have to pay
Robinette said people do understand
what's at stake, whether or not they support
the idea of a new tax
"It's important to keep in mind the seri
ousness of the finnm ini problems that we're
facing." he said
OSPIRG takes action
against plastic industry
By Marion Suitor
Emerald Contributor
OSP1RG sunt a surprise par k
age full of styrofoam, shrink
wrap and plastic packaging to
the headquarters of the Society
of the Plastics Industry in Wash
ington, D.C., Inst week
In part of its "Take the Wrap"
campaign, OSPIRG has been
returning unrecyclable plastic
materials from whence they
came.
"Basically, we are telling the
plastic s industry to take respon
sibility for all the waste they are
producing,” said Gretchen
Haber. OSPIRG staff member.
"The package was meant as a
visual message to the industry
that something has to be done
about unrer ydable plastic.”
OSPIRG has started three
campaigns to address the issue
of plastics recycling, mainly
focusing on widening the scope
of plastic recycling in Oregon,
Haber said.
In addition to the "Take the
Wrap” campaign. OSPIRG’s
plastic recycling agenda also
includes extending some of the
requirements of a recycling hill
passed in 1991 called Senate
Bill No 66.
Senate Bill No. 66 requires
plastic packaging to contain 25
percent recycled content by
1995. OSPIRG wants that per
centage increased to 50. Also.
OSPIRG supports a truth-in
labeling law so that plastic: mate
rials cannot be labeled "recy
clable” unless consumers have
access to convenient recycling
facilities.
OSPIRG s third extension to
Senate Bill No. 66 would be to
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PUBLIC MARKET
683-8464
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VALLIY MVtll PLAZA
convince the plastics industry to
fund programs to develop the
recycled plastics market.
OSPIRG recently collected
3.000 signatures statewide on a
petition in support of these three
amendments, Haber said.
Although it seems plastic is
just as easily collected and recy
cled ns aluminum cans, only a
small amount of plastic actually
finds its way to recycling facili
ties. Haber said.
Currently, only a limited
amount of No. 1 and No. 2 plas
tics are recycled in Oregon Plas
tics labeled No. 3, No 4. No. 5,
No. t> and No 7 go to landfills
"Part of the reason so little
plastic is actually recycled in
Oregon is because there is no
market for recycled plastii s,"
Halier said. "People think it is so
easy to recycle plastic because
they don't have to think about it
after it leaves the curb."
Kuryn Kaplan, University •
recycling coordinator, said peo
ple often ask her what they
should do with the styrofoam
shipping materials that come in
computer boxes and other plas
tic materials.
"I tell them to throw it away,"
Kaplan said. "No matter what
the plastics industry might tell
you. there's just no place to send
it for recycling."
Currently, the University can
only send No. 2 milk jugs to be
recycled: everything else goes in
the garbage. About 70 percent of
all plastics are used in food
related capacities and can't be
recycled, Kaplan said
OSPIRG focuses on education
as a means to help keep plastic
out of landfills. Halier said.
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Playing with shadows
University students cast shadows while playing bas
ketball near the campus tennis courts Tuesday after
noon despite chilly winter temperatures in Eugene
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An evening of original works
presented by graduate
students of the
Department of Dance
Friday/ Saturday
February 19 & 20 • 8:00 pm
Dougherty Dance Theatre
354 Gertinger Annex
S3 Pw person
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* Any i
Yogurt*
('except snuill cones)
my
Campus
SUBSHOP
1225 ^Ider
345-2434
fvt*i valul un tMivrry »*# with any
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342-3358
Must be 21 or Over
Wednesday ** ■ - $5
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Flipper
Sludge plow
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Thursday ia, w $3
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Roots Roundup (ftwnC'anad*)
Friday m i«$5
A niuitl pic rang and
scarification seminar
Sowbelly »The Big I Am
The Scallywags
Terry Ixre Hale
Music Starts at 10pm
Mon-Sat
Music starts at 8pm Sundays
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