The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce is committed to ensuring that businesses in our region are treated fairly and that Northern Virginia maintains an exceptional business climate. It is our long-standing position to oppose single-industry taxes when the targeted industry does not support the tax.
Let’s be clear: It is not a meals tax; it is a food tax. The tax is much more far-reaching than adding a tax to the next meal at your favorite restaurant. It taxes your morning cup of coffee, your last-minute prepared-food item after soccer practice and your pizza delivery order after a long day at work. There is a strong possibility that something on your dinner table tonight would be taxed if Fairfax County voters don’t reject the new tax.
Advocates of the tax argue that it is necessary to pay for our K-12 public school system. As an organization that represents more than 650 companies that rely on a well-trained, competitive workforce, we believe in a strong public school system. The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce joins the business community in supporting our public schools. In fact, we helped start and managed the Foundation for Fairfax County Public Schools to assist in bringing corporate dollars to the classroom. However, the needs of the Fairfax County school system should not sink or swim on the backs of a single industry — such an unfair tax sends the wrong message to a business community so committed to public education.
The proposed meals tax is a tax on small businesses. And these small businesses reflect the diverse population of Fairfax County. While the restaurant industry is challenging because of its small profit margins — 3 to 4 percent, on average — restaurants give many people the opportunity to fulfill their dream of entrepreneurship, the American Dream. Adding an additional tax of 4 percent to the existing 6 percent sales tax would result in a total tax of 10 percent. The impact on small family restaurants and their employees is something to be concerned about.
As The Post's editorial board acknowledged, the regressive nature of this proposed tax, the second $100 million tax sought by Fairfax County in 2016, would "hurt the poor more than the rich."
Instead of rehashing an unfair, single-industry food tax that has been rejected by Fairfax County voters and those in neighboring localities in years past, the sustainable, long-term answer to growing county revenues to support the services we all expect is boosting our commercial tax base. The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce looks forward to continuing its role in accomplishing this goal, but a meals tax is not the answer.
The writer is president and chief executive of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
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