A 1% sales tax that’s added to restaurant tabs may be on the chopping block this legislative session.
Utah County GOP Rep. Norman Thurston has introduced House Bill 231 to repeal and replace it with a general sales tax.
For Thurston, it’s about “broadening the base and lowering the rate.” He says Summit County stands to collect more revenue than it would with a narrowly focused restaurant tax.
“I've been trying to work out an agreement that all of the counties can support. I'm quite surprised actually, that many of the smaller counties are willing to oppose an opportunity for them to get more revenue for these programs.”
HB231 is waiting in the House Rules Committee while Thurston works with those stakeholders.
Summit County and the Utah Tourism Industry Association oppose the bill.
The theory behind the tax is it funds programs to encourage tourism with the money those same tourists pay at restaurants, for example.
Many Summit County nonprofits, including KPCW, and annual festivals benefit from the tax by way of a county grant. In 2025, the grant totaled $4.37 million.
According to Deputy County Manager Janna Young, Summit County would miss out on money from alcohol and food sales, which are exempt from the proposed replacement tax.
“It changes the structure where, instead of patrons of restaurants paying this, it would apply to everyone,” she told the county council Feb. 4. “I don't believe that's something we're interested in.”
Summit County staff estimate that almost two thirds of all sales tax revenue comes from visitors. It’s unclear what share of the restaurant tax is paid by non-residents.
“You might think of restaurants like fine dining, you know: Courchevel or something like that,” Thurston said. “But it's also the busy moms that are stopping by to pick up a couple of pizzas because they don't have time to make dinner for their kids tonight, or families that just don't have a lot of money... Those families are also paying the restaurant tax.”
Last year, Summit County’s restaurant tax grant included about $300,000 for the Historic Park City Alliance’s Main Street programming and marketing, $100,000 for Kamas Fiesta Days and $260,000 for the annual Oakley rodeo.
The grant also supports arts organizations, the fledgling North Summit Rec district and Park City-area lodging and restaurant associations.
Thurston told KPCW there’s nothing in his bill that would prevent those initiatives from being funded.
