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Utah counties currently have the option to impose a "restaurant tax" of up to 1% on food, drinks, and alcohol sold at restaurants, as well as on customized prepared foods sold at convenience stores, gas stations, and grocery stores. Starting October 1, 2026, this bill would eliminate that restaurant tax and automatically replace it with a new county tax applied instead to other taxable purchases — excluding groceries and food ingredients — at a rate calculated by the state Tax Commission to generate the same amount of revenue the county collected from the restaurant tax during 2025. Counties would not need to pass a new ordinance or provide public notice for this switch to take effect, though they would still need to update their existing ordinance language to reflect the change, and counties would retain the ability to later reduce or repeal the new tax.