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Meals tax not drawing ire in city restaurants Date published: 11/23/2009
BY EMILY BATTLE
Sit down to a $50 restaurant meal in Spotsylvania or Stafford county and you'll be charged $4.50 in added state and local taxes. Sit down to that same meal in Fredericksburg, and you'll pay $5.50 in tax. The $1 difference is because Fredericksburg's meals tax is 2 percent higher than those of its neighbors. The City Council raised the tax this year from 5 percent to 6 percent. And so far, that has resulted in an increase in revenue for the city. Stafford and Spotsylvania's meals tax rates are both 4 percent, the highest rate the state allows counties to charge. Cities and towns don't have a limit. The highest meals tax in the state is the town of Orange's 8 percent. Local meals taxes are added to restaurant bills on top of the 5 percent state sales tax. Despite complaints before the change from restaurant owners who said the move would make Fredericksburg eateries less competitive, council members approved the tax increase with business owners in mind. Since commercial properties didn't see the decrease in assessed value that residential properties did, a proposed 70.5-cent real-estate tax rate was going to hit commercial owners harder than residential owners. The new meals tax took effect Aug. 1, prompting many city restaurateurs to post signs next to their cash registers and doors to remind customers why they might notice a difference in their checks. According to many restaurant owners and city tax collections for the first two months in which the new rate was effective, the extra 1 percent doesn't raise too many eyebrows. In the first two tax reporting months that reflect the new 6 percent rate the city brought in $1.4 million in meals tax, just over $200,000 more than the 5 percent tax brought in for those same two months last year. That total was only $5,700 lower than what the city had projected it would bring in for those two months. And since meals tax collections came in nearly $47,000 above budget projections in July and August, Fredericksburg is on target to bring in the additional $883,000 that the extra 1 percent was supposed to net for fiscal year 2010. Steve Estes knew about the impending meals tax increase when he was preparing to open Rodango's Steakhouse restaurant in Central Park earlier this fall.
Ok we know why not to go to fredericksburg.Does anyone have a reason we should? you get tickects from the$ suv you cant aford to eat anything.the stores are closed most of the time.people can get shot. or there purses stolen.I do not see much there.We can go to the mall and get all that stuff.
Because I am taking my dining "luxury" elsewhere. Fred, you aren't getting another penny out of my family. Reduce spending, reduce taxes or pay at the ballot box!
I don't think you understand what percent means. It means that that it is a fraction of 100 or not 4. It's alright.
I'll just reduce my tip from 20% to 19%. Sorry.
Ms. Battle incorrectly writes that Fredericksburg's six percent meal tax "is 2 percent higher" than Spotsylvania/Stafford's four percent. The Fredericksburg levy is in fact 50 percent higher--it takes half of four to reach six. The writer and the publication's copy editors are sadly unaware of the difference between two percentage points and two percent.
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