Yo, dumbass Wrote:
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> Stupid shit, you pay fucking 6% state sales tax
> for eating out ANYWHERE in NoVa. It has nothing
> to do with what city or town you are in.
> Virtually every incorporated area in the region
> has its own ADDITIONAL meals tax, meaning that
> it's pretty much just unincorporated parts of
> Fairfax County that don't have such a tax, and
> they will be forced to impose one soon.
>
The problem with imposing a meals tax in Fairfax County is that it's subject to a referendum, meaning the voters would decide whether or not to allow it.
The last time a Fairfax County meals tax was put to a referendum was April 1992, and it failed by a wide margin. (58% to 42%)
The political climate in Fairfax County is such that any new referendum would also likely fail, and the BoS knows this, which is why there hasn't been one.
IIRC, towns and cities are allowed to impose meal taxes after simply holding a public hearing and a vote by the town/city council, rather than a referendum, which is why Herndon, Vienna, and the cities of Fairfax, Falls Church and Alexandria all have them.
Even though it's a county, Arlington is specifically allowed to impose a meals tax by ยง 58.1-3833. using the same political theater of a public hearing followed by a vote, although the board's vote has to be unanimous. They did this in 1991.
So, short of changing state law or the voters passing a referendum, there's no way Fairfax County is going to get a meals tax.
See also
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dmb/ifc/ifc-meals-tax-white-paper_june-2013.pdf, which is a Meals Tax white paper prepared last year by the county's Department of Management and Budget.