Now pay more for eating out

CHANDIGARH: If you have been planning a vacation or just can’t do without dining out, you’ll have to watch your expenses. Starting Sunday, eating out will get dearer and so will stay at hotels. From now onwards, for every Rs 1,000, you’ll have to shell out a service tax of Rs 49.50, which was Rs 37.10 earlier in all hotels, restaurants, clubs and food joints.
The proposed increase in taxes has evoked a mixed response from residents, who love good life. “We have to abide by government’s order,” said Arvinder Pal Singh, president of Hotel and Restaurant Association of Chandigarh.
“The service tax should be collected as it is needed for boosting nation’s economy,” said Manmohan Singh, chairman of the association.
However, city residents are not too pleased with the development. Shilpa Arora, a resident of Sector 15 rued, “Dining out on weekends was the only leisure pursuit for us. Now even that has become costly.”
Nodding her agreement, Masoom Juneja, a resident of Sector 43 said, “I’ll have to think twice before taking my family out for lunch now.”
Dhruv Jain, a resident of Sector 27 agreed, “It is certainly going to put a burden on our pockets, but then it will also benefit our economy.”