Supervisors go after meals tax
by Larry S. Chowning
The Middlesex County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to start the process of having a referendum for a food and beverage tax placed on the November 2010 ballot.
Supervisors instructed county attorney Mike Soberick to draft a resolution to send the referendum request to the circuit court judge for approval.
This will be the third time the county has attempted to have a meals tax referendum approved by voters. The county held referendums in 1999 and 2005 on the tax. In both cases, the meals tax was voted down by taxpayers.
The 4% tax on meals failed by almost a 3-1 margin in 1999. Only 446 “yes” ballots were cast that year compared to 1,283 “no” ballots.
Less than half the voters in 1999 even cast a ballot on the meals tax question, and there were concerns that where the referendum was placed on the ballot made it difficult for voters to see.
Six years later in 2005, county supervisors tried it again. That year 2,081 voted “no” and 1,530 voted “yes” for the meals tax.
Supervisors and others felt the benefits of the meals tax was not promoted enough in 2005, and this caused it to be defeated.
“The board just has to do a better job of getting the word out as to how important this tax will be to the county,” said supervisor Fred Crittenden.
Supervisor Wayne Jessie said people pay meals taxes in other counties and “do not even think twice about it. It does not stop people from going out to eat.”
Supervisor Jack Miller said, “The tax would be an asset to the county and give homeowners some relief.”
Supervisor Pete Mansfield said he felt, judging from the amount of tax collected from the meals tax in Urbanna, the county might get enough revenue ($424,000) from a meals tax to equal 2 cents on the real estate tax rate.
County administrator Charles Culley questioned whether a meals tax would generate that much revenue.
Supervisor Carlton Revere said the amount of revenue expected to be generated must be known before the board attempts to sell voters on a meals tax.
Culley was instructed by the board to ask county commissioner of the revenue Bonnie Davenport to provide gross sales figures of county restaurants to help the board determine the amount of revenue that should be collected.
Culley said gross sales will not reflect the amount of prepared food sold at stores such as 7-11, where other items are sold that would not be taxed.
Mansfield said these operations know how much prepared food they sell. “Maybe they will tell us.”
“We need to know so we can tell the taxpayers how much revenue will be collected,” reiterated Revere.
In related matters, the board tabled action on a possible lodging tax and cigarette tax.
