Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Tax break tunes out pianists

CARSON CITY -- Four piano players whose termination spotlighted a flaw in the new live entertainment tax have not been rehired.

In August, the pianists said the owners of the Eiffel Tower Restaurant fired them because providing live background music would have subjected diners to the new 10 percent tax.

News of their plight prompted state officials to craft an exemption for "ambient background music."

But Michael Close, one of the pianists fired from the high-end restaurant in Paris Las Vegas, said Tuesday the musicians have not been rehired.

"We haven't been hired back, and I don't think we're going to be rehired," Close said. "I'm sure from their standpoint, it was strictly a bottom line, business decision."

Close said he has not yet found a new job to replace the work he lost at the restaurant. He performs at another job several days a week.

The Eiffel Tower Restaurant is owned by Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, based in Chicago. Company officials did not return repeated phone calls this week.

On Sept. 9, a spokeswoman said the company had not made any decision about rehiring the piano players.

Close said he is pleased state officials resolved the problem in response to concerns raised by him and two other musicians, Arthur and Linda Schroeck.

"Absolutely, it feels good," Close said. "The way it stood, it would have cost jobs down the road at other venues. At least now, if a restaurant in a casino wants to hire a piano player, or a harpist, or a guitarist, the work will be available."

The problem emerged when the Eiffel Tower musicians wrote to state officials to say they were let go from the restaurant in late August because of concerns their performances would subject diners to a new 10 percent live entertainment tax.

The new version of the tax, which took effect Sept. 1, did not include an exemption for instrumental music that had been in a previous version of the tax law.

Lawmakers who passed an $836 million tax package in July said instrumental musicians who played for restaurant patrons in casinos were never intended to be covered by the levy.

Ultimately, Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander crafted a letter on Sept. 5 that exempted "ambient background music" from being covered by the tax.

"To qualify as ambient background music, the volume of the music should be low enough to permit conversation to occur and should not be of a nature that would tend to cause people to watch as well as listen," he said in the letter.

The Eiffel Tower musicians, lawmakers and others welcomed the letter, but it did not result in the rehiring of the Eiffel Tower pianists.

There were no reports of other musicians losing their jobs between the new tax taking effect and Neilander's resolution to the problem.

Close was philosophical about how the incident turned out for him personally.

"I feel a little bit sad that I've done something good, but it wasn't helpful to (me)," he said. "But I've talked to a lot of other musicians who are very happy we raised the concern."

A professional musician for more than 30 years, Close said live music in any venue, from a restaurant to a show on the Strip, is always preferable to the pre-recorded alternative.