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Restaurateurs take issue with senior discounts

The restaurant industry wants the government to reconsider a 25 percent discount for retirees.

Restaurant owners don’t oppose the discount, but they don’t want to bear the cost of a government policy.

LA PRENSA/Archivo

cheap eats:The Asociación de Restaurantes y Afines de Panamá (Arap) has criticized the government mandated discount for seniors, which it says forces restaurants to pick up too much of the tab.1060211

The Asociación de Restaurantes y Afines de Panamá (Arap) has called for the government to reconsider the discount guaranteed to seniors and retirees by law, claiming that it unfairly burdens the restaurant industry.

Arap advisor Rino Tamburelli explained that before the Cálculo Alternativo del Impuesto sobre la Renta (Cair) went into effect, the government compensated restaurants for 30 percent of the 25 percent discount. In other words, he said, “For every dollar that we discounted, we got back 30 cents.”

After the Cair was established, however, effectively none of the discount was reimbursed, since taxes are now charged on the items ordered, while not taking the amount of the discount into account, he added.

Tamburelli said that the discount is a commitment on the part of the government, not private enterprise.

“We’re not against the discount,” he said. “On the contrary. But merchants should not have to finance public policies.”

The restaurant sector has requested that the Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas (MEF) deduct the discount given to seniors from taxes.

MEF sources explained that the discount does not carry tax credits and that the merchant is therefore obligated to assume the cost. Moreover, the law does not suggest that restaurants will be reimbursed for the discount.

As a consequence of the financial burden placed on restaurants, Arap president Leopoldo Liakópulos said, retirees might not receive the best service at some restaurants because their business isn’t profitable.

Rafael Medina, an advisor to the Confederación de Asociaciones de Jubilados, confirmed that at times retirees feel that their food portions are reduced or that the servers ignore them.

Another consequence of the discount, she added, is that the restaurants might increase prices to compensate for their losses, which affects everyone.