History of the Food Tax
This is not the first time they’ve tried to force a Food Tax on us. The Food Tax has been put up for a vote twice in the past, in 1992 and in 2016, where voters rejected it both times, with 55% and 54% of the vote respectively. Because voters kept rejecting a Food Tax at the polls, in 2020, the Virginia General Assembly passed a new law letting county boards enact the tax without voter approval. Now, as their attempts to pass it at the ballot box have failed, members of the Fairfax County Board are trying to push through the Food Tax with just a Board vote.
Why did voters reject the meals tax twice? It’s a regressive tax that hurts working class and middle class residents the hardest. Rising costs for diners will result in smaller tips for the servers who depend on them. And it drives tourism away from our community and harms our small business owners.
Being considered today in Fairfax County is a new tax of up to 6% on all prepared and ready to eat food and meals sold in the county. And, this Food Tax has no guarantee of reducing the property tax, no matter what anyone says. The issues facing Fairfax County are not a result of low taxes, they’re a result of constant wasteful spending. This includes Supervisors voting to raise their own salary by 30% just last year.
This year – say no to the Food Tax.