Tempest over a Martini Glass

The surprise attack on meal deductions raises cries of alarm

Businessmen across the U.S. are sputtering over the Senate's attack on one of the most sacred traditions of American business: the expense-account meal. Fumed Alan Lewis, director of the Windows on the World restaurant in Manhattan: "It's just dead wrong. The business lunch is a way of life."

Two weeks ago the Senate challenged the so-called three-martini lunch by voting to slice in half the tax deduction for executive dining out. The National Restaurant Association predicted that the measure, which is part of the Senate's proposal to raise $98.4 billion in new...

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