Author: Brad Dawson

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No hospitality industry tax holiday in Tennessee

Mar 18, 2020

With the hospitality industry devastated from the coronavirus, we keep hearing the same refrain from restaurant, bar, hotel and venue owners:

Do I have to pay my LBD and sales tax this month?

Unless the State of Tennessee provides tax relief for sales and liquor-by-the-drink taxes, our response is yes.  You have to pay your taxes.

Sales tax comes due on the 20th of the month.  Liquor-by-the-drink tax was due on the 15th. 

We believe the state missed a tremendous opportunity to help the hospitality industry weather the corona crisis.

There is personal liability for failing to pay these taxes.  We do not want to see anyone become personally liable for taxes, particularly during pressing financial times.

Keep in mind that a business is collecting sales and liquor by the drink taxes for the state.  The state views the tax collections as the state’s money.  If you divert tax collections to pay other bills, such as staff, food supplies or rent, you have essentially stolen from the state.  The law is stacked in favor of the state on this point. 

We hear the Mississippi Sheiks classic 1934 recording of Sales Tax Blues:

Say Walter, we need some cigarettes. Let’s go in and get a pack.

Okay!

Hello boys, what can I do for you?

I’ll have a pack of cigarettes.

Alright. Here you are. Be three cents more though.

What’s that for?

Sales tax. Haven’t you ever heard of sales tax?

Sure haven’t.

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Coronavirus interrupts beer board licensing in Tennessee

Mar 16, 2020

It is official.  The coronavirus is slowing down the sale of beer, or at least the issuance of beer permits.  We are going to keep a running list of closures at Last Call.  If you know of any that are not on our list, please email me at here.  

Memphis Beer Board                        
March 18 (CANCELED)

Meetings scheduled to resume April 1

Nashville Beer Board                        
March 25 (CANCELED)

Meetings scheduled to resume April 9

Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Comissions

Director Russell Thomas says it should be business as normal at the Tennessee ABC.  Staff will be working remotely with laptops and there will be minimal in-office presence. 

Instead of canceling the March 31 meeting, the Director expects that the meeting will proceed telephonically or via other technology. The ABC is holding a special meeting later this week to approve of a new location for Nashville wholesaler Best Brands, which was destroyed in the tornado.

Kudos to my keeper Randi for this Semisonic hit lyric:

Closing time

One last call for alcohol so finish your whiskey or beer.

Closing time

You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.

Tennessee state courts have suspended all in court proceedings, except emergencies.  The Tennessee Supreme Court has also extended some deadlines.  Read more here. 

Here is Nashville Mayor Cooper’s announcement from Friday the 13th.  I think the irony of the date might have been lost.

All Boards & Commission Chairs and Members:

I am hereby requesting that the chairs and members of all Boards and Commissions of the Metropolitan Government postpone all pending public meetings scheduled through April 6, 2020, subject to requirements of the Metropolitan Charter and Code of Laws.

Upon consultation with the Metro Public Health Department, and consistent with emerging recommendations from the Center for Disease Control, the Tennessee Department of Health, and the White House Task Force on Coronavirus, this request is submitted to deter further spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus as well as to ensure consistency and finality for the public’s scheduling purposes.

To the extent possible, board and commission agenda items should be deferred and placed upon the agenda of subsequent meetings scheduled after April 1. Additionally, every effort should be made to provide sufficient notice of postponement to members of the public, especially anticipated attendees, and to otherwise alleviate the resulting delays in the administrative process.

My office and the Metro Public Health Department are continuing to close monitor this evolving situation. We are also collaborating with the Metropolitian IT Services Department to format future public meetings in a manner that protects the health and safety of all attendees, using remote participation tools such as video web conferencing, teleconferencing, and other services.

I recognize the significant inconvenience cancellation and postponement of these meetings will cause. But our first priority is of course the safety of our citizens and residents; so I am deeply grateful for your cooperation and understanding. I think you for your support and patience.

Sincerely,

John Cooper

Mayor of Metropolitan Government of Nashville

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How to support your local watering hole in Nashville

Mar 16, 2020

UPDATE: On Friday morning, Nashville health officials halted dine-in service at restaurants. Take-out orders, drive-thru service, curbside pickup, and delivery service are permitted. Here’s an update.

Mayor Cooper‘s announcement that he was closing bars in Nashville as a result of the coronavirus epidemic quickly went viral among locals.

We have been hearing the same question from tons of bar owners: What do we do?

We recommend that you serve food and provide a safe environment for your customers.  If you have a decent food menu and loyal customers, become a restaurant in this time of need.

As Mayor Cooper said in his statement closing bars: “We are encouraging restaurants to remain open as both a measure of social wellbeing and because of their important role in helping to feed our community.”

No one has said you have to stop serving alcohol, you just need to sell 50 percent food to be open.

Loyal customers, take a break, run to your local watering hole and order up some grub with that cocktail. It may do your mental health some good, and Nashville’s hospitality industry — bartenders, servers, cooks and business owners – could use your support.

All this buzz on social media makes us pine for the days of Marvin Gaye:

It took me by surprise I must say

When I found out yesterday

Don’t you know that I heard it through the grapevine

Many folks have asked whether the city has the legal authority to take drastic action to close businesses. 

Although we have not done extensive research, we believe the city does have the authority.  For example, the Metro Health Department has the authority to close an unsafe food establishment. This is a routine power and does not require a state of emergency.

There is precedent for our thoughts about focusing on food service and serving the public need.

A court in Nashville found that Tennessee law is too vague to enforce a ban on guns in bars. Chancellor Bonnyman ruled that the distinction between restaurants and bars was unconstitutionally vague on November 6, 2009.

Make sure you understand and follow the rules: 

limit maximum seating to under 50 percent of your capacity
no more than 100 individuals, regardless of your capacity
no standing at bars
bars should be limited to 50 percent of the bar area seating
space out of tables for customers – think social distancing

Click here for Mayor Cooper’s statement and the Health Department order. 

There may be a silver lining from the Mayoral and Health Department’s actions. Insurance typically does not cover losses from illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. With the state of emergency and specific closure order from the government, your losses may become insured. 

We encourage you to check with your insurance agent and hope to have more information on this front soon.

Stay tuned, serve lots of meals and be well.

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New version of RLPS goes live in Tennessee

Feb 3, 2020

The Tennessee ABC unveiled its new version of the Regulatory Licensing and Permitting System, known as RLPS, on Monday, February 3.

ABC IT Director Chris Dowell explains:  “We put a lot of effort into improving our customers’ experience.”  For example, RLPS now shows what you can do on the site, as opposed to requiring users to first log in and then navigate menus.  Users can now select what they want to do from the icons on the home page.  

Assistant Director Tabatha Blackwell is “excited that RLPS is much easier for servers,” who files tens of thousands of applications.  Applying for a server permit is now the first icon among the services available in RLPS.  

Licensing professionals will be pleased to discover that finding and printing a license has been reduced from a few minutes to a few seconds.  Users no longer have to go into the file and navigate the relatively complex process to find and print licenses.  There is an icon on the home page: Print My License.

Licensing professionals will also be able to navigate quicker to renewals or pending applications by selecting the appropriate icon.

All this interface talk leaves us humming Shania Twain’s hit “She’s Not Just A Pretty Face.”

She’s Not Just a Pretty Face

She’s got everything it takes.

She’s mother of the human race

She’s not just a pretty face

RLPS is now optimized to be faster and more responsive to both licensing professionals and the ABC staff.  Back office functions – what the ABC uses to process your applications – are much faster, which should lead to faster processing for applications.

Among other improvements, the back office workflow is more visual.  The system is easier for Licensing/Permitting Specialists to tell when ABC inspections are scheduled, for example.

RLPS now includes a new payment portal for citations.  

Thanks to ABC Business Analyst Tamsyn Smith, who worked much of the weekend to make sure the new system was up and running Monday morning.