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Fishers considers food and beverage tax; public hearing set

FISHER, Ind. (WISH) — Fishers city government has scheduled a public hearing for Thursday to discuss a proposed 1% food and beverage tax.

Revenue from the new tax would be used to pay for debt service for the recently-announced event center at Fishers District, according to Ashley Elrod, director of communications and public relations for the city of Fishers.

One worker at a Fishers bar and grill expressed concern to News 8 over the idea that the 1% tax would be passed on to business owners, but Elrod says the tax would be paid not by the merchant, but by the customer.

“This will have no tax burden on the restaurant ownership/management,” Elrod said in a statement to News 8. “This will operate the exact same way they are already processing the Hamilton County good and beverage tax already in place.”

The proposal reads, “The Food & Beverage Tax rate may not exceed 1% of the gross retail income received by the merchant from a qualifying food or beverage transaction.”

The new tax would be in addition to the 1% food and beverage tax that is already collected for Hamilton County, meaning customers in Fishers would be charged a combined 2% rate, according to a guide provided by the city.

News 8 reached out to Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness for an interview on the tax proposal but was told by a spokesperson he was unavailable for comment in time for Wednesday night’s report.

The public hearing will be part of a special City Council meeting set to begin at 5 p.m. Thursday in the training room of the Fishers Police Department, 4 Municipal Drive.

This story has been updated to reflect new information provided to News 8 by the city of Fishers.