Politics & Government

Fairfax County Supervisors Table Meals Tax, for Now

Restaurant association, chamber, oppose tax.

At Tuesday's Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ meeting, the Board heard the pros and cons of implementing a meals tax from the Meals Tax Task Force and again put off making a decision on whether to place the tax on residents, caterers, grocery stores and restaurants.

Supervisor Pat Herrity (R – Springfield) is against the meals tax and offered the following statement on it:

"I cannot support a referendum to establish a meals tax in Fairfax County for several reasons - it is a tax that targets a single industry, it would increase the tax on prepared foods by 67 percent, and Fairfax County residents will overwhelmingly shoulder this burden – the same county residents that have seen their homeowner taxes rise by 14 percent in the last three years alone, and a projected increase of another 7 percent next year," he said in a news release.

On April 22, Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova established a meals tax referendum task force to study the possibility of implementing a tax to generate an additional source of revenue. Counties may establish a meals tax only if a referendum is approved by the voters.  If adopted at a 4 percent rate, the cost of a restaurant meal would result in a nearly $100 million tax increase, according to the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce. 

The group's president and CEO, Jim Corcoran, said last month that the chamber opposes the meals tax or any "single industry" tax in the county.

Find out what's happening in Burkewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"We have been down this road before in Fairfax, and in almost every case voters continue to oppose such measures. This is not a time for rehashing failed policies of the past," he said. "County leaders, the business community and citizens all need to work together to grow and diversify the economy in Fairfax County, not tax our way to a solution."

A petition, "Say No to a Fairfax County Meals Tax," organized by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, opposes the proposed referendum ballot measure that would place a 4 percent tax on all restaurant meals and prepared foods in the county.

Find out what's happening in Burkewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Here's what they have to say about the proposal: "In a time when foodservice operators face high food prices, increasing transportation taxes and rising health care costs, the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) and its members, restaurants and residents in Fairfax County, as well as businesses and voters throughout the Commonwealth, stand in opposition to the call to impose a meals tax in Fairfax County."

They go on to say that if the meals tax is imposed at the 4 percent rate, the total sales tax on prepared food would be 10 percent. The addition of 4 percent meals tax to the current 6 percent sales tax the state charges would constitute a 66 percent tax increase on Fairfax County residents and visitors.

RAMW and its members do not think a single business or industry should be burdened with raising revenue for the County’s general fund.

You can view the petition here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/say-no-to-a-fairfax-county-meals-tax/


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here