Diners will pay a little bit more to eat at Vienna restaurants starting next year.
By a 6-1 vote yesterday (Monday), the Vienna Town Council approved a one-percentage-point increase to the town’s meals tax, bumping the current 3% rate to 4% indefinitely.
The rate bump, which takes effect Jan. 1, drew widespread support from the board during the meeting, despite intense criticism from diners and restaurants alike.
Prior to the town council meeting, local pub Hawk & Griffin stated on social media that any council members who vote to increase the meals tax rate “will no longer be welcome.”
“Over 50 restaurants have closed or changed ownership in Vienna since COVID, a trend that will likely increase should costs continue to rise. Even bankruptcy does not legally release the owners from the tax debt to the town,” the restaurant said, asserting that the existing tax rate already exceeds its profits.
However, outside of raising the rate of the town’s real estate tax, “this is the only other way that is available to us under Virginia law to raise the money,” Councilmember Roy Baldwin said. “I think this is appropriate stewardship of our budget.”
The meals tax is charged to consumers when they purchase prepared food and drinks from restaurants, grocery stores and other establishments. Businesses then remit the funds to the county on a monthly-basis, resulting in one of the county’s consistent revenue streams.
The 3% meals tax currently “pays for capital improvements such as street maintenance, park maintenance and facility improvements,” the Town of Vienna said in a press release following the vote.
Initially, the tax rate increase was proposed as a temporary measure to fund the construction of an aquatics and fitness center at the Annex, a now-vacant, 3-acre site at 301 Center Street South that the town acquired for $5.5 million in 2020. The town’s current budget, adopted in May, included $200,000 to start an operating reserve fund for the planned facility.
Without the increased meals tax revenue providing another source of funding, the property would continue to remain empty, Baldwin argued.
“Whatever we decide to do with the Annex property will cost money that is not in our budget,” Baldwin said. “There is no other responsible way to pay for whatever the town council decides to do with that property.”
After holding a public hearing on the proposed increase in November, the town council deferred a vote in January, citing a need to see how economic uncertainty introduced by the change in White House administrations might shake out.
Now, multiple councilmembers say any revenue from the meals tax won’t be specifically designated for the aquatics center project. Councilmember Ray Brill noted that the funds would be a welcome addition to the town, regardless of which projects they are earmarked for.
“There are some projects that can be done more quickly with this 1%,” he said.
Councilmember Sandra Allen, who was the lone vote against the rate increase, argued that it’s “unacceptable,” especially without a specific project to pay for.
“I want to make sure that we’re responsible … We’re starting to look like California with bridges to nowhere,” Allen said.
More specificity about what projects the new tax revenue might fund could come next month. The town council is scheduled to meet for a work session on Sept. 15 to discuss the updated Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) ahead of a vote on Oct. 27.
Allen also opined that Brill, who is not running for election later this year, should not be allowed to vote on the proposed ordinance — a remark that was quickly rebuked by Mayor Linda Colbert.
Also during the meeting, the council narrowly rejected (3-4) an amendment suggested by Councilmember Jessica Ramakis that would have established a 10-year deadline for ending the one-point rate increase, as originally proposed.
When bringing the amendment, Ramakis argued that such a deadline would place “helpful pressure” on the board’s budget process in the long term.
“Having a sunset of this tax increase would put helpful and valuable pressure on the budget process for us to be fiscally responsible,” Ramakis said.
When the new rate takes effect, it will align Vienna’s meals tax with the new one imposed by Fairfax County, whose Board of Supervisors approved a 4% tax on prepared foods in May. The new county rate will also take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
Photo via Town of Vienna/X
