Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 9, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 27 Presenting Sponsor Who are the best business- to-business companies in Central Massachusetts? BOB A W A R D S B E S T O F B U S I N E S S Here's your chance to tell us! Vote for your favorite B2B companies in over 40 categories that include best bank for business, best advertising agency, best college for business and more! The winners will be unveiled in the January 11, 2021 edition of WBJ and honored at a special event in late January. Voting closes on November 13, 2020 www.wbjournal.com/BOBAwards DON'T FORGET TO VOTE! R E S T A U R A N T R E V E N U E F A C T B O O K Massachusetts cities and towns. Brookings, a Washington, D.C., public policy group, analyzed 140 of the na- tion's largest cities, looking at how each relies on what it calls elastic sources of revenue, or those that can go up or down the most depending on the strength of the economy. e group considered what share of jobs are at most risk, particularly those in the service industry, which can't be done remotely, and have generally seen the highest new unemployment claims during the pandemic. In both counts, Worcester should fare relatively well, the group said. e city is one of 30 that Brookings said should see a fiscal hit in the longer-term, but not Continued from page 23 immediately. What are known as local revenues – including the meals tax, excise tax, licenses and permits – make up 6% of Worcester's revenue, compared to 45% from property taxes, which stay more stable year-to-year, according to a Worcester Regional Research Bureau analysis in September. Another source of local revenue may fall further than restaurants: building permits. rough late October, the city's revenue for the year for permits was $2.3 million, on track to fall by 19% from last year. Statewide, the Massachusetts Depart- ment of Revenue has projected fiscal 2021 tax revenue – which covers July 2020 to June 2021 – to fall as much as 18%, or $5.2 billion, below what was expected before the pandemic hit. The Chateau, a restaurant on Route 9 in Westborough, has closed for good. Central Mass. communities with the most restaurant tax revenue December March June September 2019 2020 2020 2020 Worcester $832,504 $813,536 $476,411 $614,842 Framingham $405,253 $408,794 $191,941 $231,838 Marlborough $283,141 $279,690 $140,167 $184,164 Natick $259,820 $258,950 $118,142 $145,843 Westborough $176,430 $170,705 $101,051 $123,174 Franklin $128,362 $133,843 $82,428 $105,422 Shrewsbury $127,767 $151,297 $93,238 $90,405 Sturbridge $140,754 $127,388 $55,145 $73,360 Bellingham $101,052 $98,694 $57,723 $96,504 Hudson $107,756 $100,995 $61,332 $84,037 Source: Massachusetts Department of Revenue Revenue from the local option meals tax, 75 cents for every $100 on a restau- rant bill, dropped in the second quarter during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, rebounding slightly in the third quarter in the Central Massachusetts communities with the 10 largest such revenue. W PHOTO/GRANT WELKER

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