Resolution to Collect Blacksburg Meals and Lodging Taxes from Campus Visitors

Whereas the Town of Blacksburg levies a 6 percent tax on meals and a 7 percent tax on lodging;

whereas all of Virginia’s 15 four-year public universities—except Virginia Tech—reimburse their host community for meals and lodging taxes;

whereas Virginia Tech’s recalcitrance to collect the Blacksburg meals and lodging taxes burdens the 14,000 permanent residents of Blacksburg with the cost of government services for 42,000 people and undermines local business by giving an unfair edge to university-owned restaurants and hotels;

whereas the Virginia Tech Foundation owns both the Hotel Roanoke and the Inn at Virginia Tech but only collects local taxes at the former;

whereas Virginia Tech already collects the state sales tax on cash and credit purchases at the university’s world-class dining centers;

whereas collected taxes would help the Town of Blacksburg maintain its high quality of life and keep it safe, clean, and beautiful for all members of our community;

whereas the Virginia General Assembly has ensured that Virginia Tech students and employees are exempt from local taxes per state law;

whereas the Town of Blacksburg’s meals and lodging taxes are consumer taxes, effectively putting the tax burden on campus visitors and not the university;

whereas community leaders, citizens groups, and the local media have brought the discrepancy with the local meals and lodging tax to light in recent months;

whereas Virginia Tech would improve relations between the university and the town and advance “the stature and usefulness of the University” by collecting the local meals and lodging taxes;

Therefore be it resolved that the Student Government Association of Virginia Tech urges the university to even the playing field between the town and campus by collecting the Blacksburg meals taxes on all cash and credit purchases made by campus visitors at Virginia Tech’s dining facilities.

Be it further resolved that the Student Government Association of Virginia Tech requests the university to arrange for Hilton Hotels Corporation to collect the meals and lodging taxes at the Inn at Virginia Tech.

Download the resolution on our “Resources” page.

Invite your friends on Facebook to join us.

The family-friendly event includes a beer and wine garden, entertainment, children’s activities, and more. The Rockers All-Star Cheerleaders, the Iron Techtron, and the HokieBird will be there as well.

Volunteers with Play Fair Tech will be on hand to spread the word about the campaign, pass out stickers, and share with interested tailgaters the five reasons Virginia Tech should collect the same taxes from campus visitors that Blacksburg businesses do. We will also have petitions available for anyone who would like to sign.

Although we are sponsoring the event, the downtown tailgate would not be possible without the support of the Town of Blacksburg and the event’s media sponsors, Mix 100.7 and The Bear. Echo Company and Hotel Company from the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets have also volunteered to assist with the event.

Blacksburg for years has wanted Virginia Tech to collect the town meals and lodging taxes on campus. University officials have stridently refused, usually unwilling even to discuss it. Now, however, a few campus food sellers have started collecting the meals tax, making this an ideal time for the school do the right thing.

To be clear up front, the town does not want to tax meals plans. Students who eat in cafeterias or burn through their dollars at other campus dining options would not pay it.

Rather, the town wants the school to collect the 6 percent meals tax and 7 percent lodging tax only on purchases made by private citizens.

In addition, the editorial links the meals and lodging tax disparity to an issue of fairness — a central tenet of the Play Fair Tech campaign:

As long as Tech holds out, it adds a little bit to the sense that it is separate from the town, not a full partner with the people who live here year round. With this small effort, it could more fully invest in the community. It could say, “Yes, we are all part of the same team.”

A full list of news articles, op-ed pieces, blog entries, and videos about the meals and lodging tax issue is available on our “In the News” page.

1. All of Virginia’s 15 four-year public universities — except Virginia Tech — reimburse the local community for meals and lodging.
2. More than 110 restaurants in Blacksburg collect the meal tax, but the 23 restaurants and franchises on campus do not.
3. The Hotel Roanoke collects a lodging tax, but the Inn at Virginia Tech does not.
4. Collected taxes would help the Town of Blacksburg maintain its high quality of life and keep it safe, clean, and beautiful for all members of our community.
5. All student meal plans are tax exempt and should remain that way.

To learn more, stop by our booth at Steppin’ Out near the Market Square Park and Farmers Market on Friday and Saturday. You can also sign our petition there or at one of many local businesses that support our cause.

Right now, we need volunteers to staff the booth on both days. These volunteers do not need prior experience with the campaign. They will have half-page handouts explaining our cause to interested citizens.

To volunteer, enter your name and e-mail in the online form for the date and time you wish to help.

This is also a chance to recruit more Blacksburg citizens to help with Play Fair Tech. If you have any friends, family members, neighbors, or co-workers who support our cause but have not been to a Play Fair Tech meeting yet, please share this opportunity with them.

We are also in need of a pop-up tent, tables, and chairs. If we could borrow any of these items from you, send us a message.

BLACKSBURG — July 21, 2010 — A group of Blacksburg citizens and business owners has launched a campaign to urge Virginia Tech to collect local meals taxes and occupancy taxes. The group has placed petitions in local businesses and is distributing bumper stickers bearing the slogan “Play Fair, Tech.” Restaurants in Blacksburg pay a 6 percent tax on all sales, and all hotels and motels charge a 7 percent lodging tax. But Virginia Tech does not collect either of these taxes at its restaurants, dining halls or at the Inn at Virginia Tech.

The Play Fair Tech campaign maintains that the effective tax-exemption gives establishments on campus an unfair advantage over businesses in town, and denies the Town deserved revenues. “Virginia Tech and the Town of Blacksburg must work together to ensure that our community remains a great place to live with first-rate amenities and services,” said Michael Sutphin, a member of the group’s steering committee. “Although all of our community’s visitors benefit from town services, only those who eat or sleep off campus pay for them.”

The group has made it clear that they are not calling for the meals tax to be applied to student meal plans, but only to cash and credit card sales at campus dining halls.

A recent study conducted by the Town of Blacksburg suggests that the collection of these taxes on campus could yield an additional $200,000 annually for the town. But the group and its supporters emphasize that the amount is not as important as upholding the spirit of fair play. Mike Soriano, who owns Champs Sportsbar & Café, Awful Arthur’s, Wikiteria Market & Café, and Firehouse Pizza in Blacksburg, is also supporting the campaign. “It’s not the dollar amount that matters, but the principle of fair play that is essential for a united community,” said Soriano.

Virtually every other public college or university in Virginia collects the local meals tax on campus. And Virginia Tech collects the 5 percent sales tax on all cash and credit card food sales on campus.

The campaign’s immediate goal is to gather as many petition signatures as possible from Blacksburg residents, business owners, employees and students of Virginia Tech, and alumni. In the process, it hopes to inform the community of this issue and plan further action.

• Bollo’s Café and Bakery
• Easy Chair Coffee Shop
• Gillie’s
• Homebody
• Xanadu Gifts

In addition, our volunteers will be circulating the petition to the Blacksburg Farmers Market. If you own a business in Blacksburg and would like copies of the petition, you can download and print the form (PDF) or e-mail Play Fair Tech and ask for someone to deliver copies to your establishment.

We have collected more than 700 signatures to date and will continue to collect signatures until we reach a “critical mass” of supporters.

As you may already know, a group of concerned citizens and business owners established the Play Fair Tech campaign in March to convince Virginia Tech to collect local taxes on campus. For decades, the university has declined to collect the Town of Blacksburg’s 6 percent meal tax and 7 percent lodging tax on campus, putting our local government and local restaurants and hotels at a disadvantage.

We believe that collecting the local taxes on non-meal plan purchases would help Blacksburg maintain its high quality of life and provide critical services to keep our community safe, clean, and beautiful, and we are asking for your help to make this happen.

If you own a local restaurant or hotel, a grassroots organizer from our campaign has either stopped by our place of business to deliver petitions or will do so shortly. We are asking that you show your support by signing the petition and provide an opportunity for your patrons to do so as well. After we reach a critical mass of signatures and support for our cause, we will take our petitions and an open letter to Virginia Tech administrators to urge them to work with the town to settle this matter.

If you have any questions about the campaign or would like to volunteer to help, visit www.playfairtech.com or send a message to our steering committee at playfairtech@gmail.com. We look forward to working together to even the playing field in Blacksburg.

Sincerely,

The Play Fair Tech Committee