Lobbyists for the state's private universities are optimistic that a general reduction in the state's meal tax, from 8 to 5 per cent, will be passed by the legislature, reducing a financial burden on students that currently adds $95 to board contracts at Harvard.

The Joint Legislative Committee on Taxation considered 20 separate meal tax proposals Monday, most calling for a 3 per cent reduction with various other changes in current tax law.

Across the Board

James A. True, an official with the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts (AICUP), said yesterday he expected the across the board reduction to be passed, but he is not optimistic about the fate of another bill exempting universities from the meal tax entirely.

However, students from Boston University, Tufts, MIT and Wellesley plan to lobby for the exemption bill when it is introduced on March 8, True said.

Pennies from Heaven

Financial pressures on the state are causing some opposition to the reduction on all meal taxes. "We're still looking for money rather than giving it back," one spokesman for the House Ways and Means Committee said yesterday.

At 8 per cent, the meal tax provides about $156 million annually, and the percentage cut would lower this by $58.5 million.

The Massachusetts Restaurant Association, which is also supporting the 3 per cent reduction, said that the passage of the bill would encourage more persons to dine out and the increased restaurant revenue would offset the lower tax rate.

Support for the bill seems greatest in the Senate, where it is favored by James A. Kelly Jr., chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Finnegan Awake

The House Ways and Means Committee chairman, John F. Finnegan, however, is more doubtful the bill will be passed by the lower chamber.

Under current board rates at Harvard, the 3 per cent reduction would amount to a $37.50 annual savings.

The 8 per cent tax on meal contracts was first charged during the 1975-76 academic year, when an exemption for colleges and universities was repealed.

Since that time, the AICUP has been lobbying for its reinstatement, which True expects will be accomplished in the next few years.