A meals tax?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There are plenty of classists in the democratic party. And the people I'm talking about leave after a few years, so they aren't included in the count for very long.

What? Leave what after a few years? And you forgot racists. You meant to say that there are plenty of racists and classists in the Democratic Party. But we all knew that, right? You're just getting around to admitting it.

Should probably admit that I'm neither a democrat or a republican. I don't see this as a party issue.

You didn't answer the question. Doesn't matter what party you are or aren't part of.

I'm sure there are racists and classists in both parties. Satisfied with that answer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6Our assessment went up be less than 1%. It is simply not true that everyone's assessments go up a significant amount each year. If yours went up, congratulations, your area is doing well.

I am totally supportive of a meals tax to diversify Fairfax's possible revenue stream. I wish the state would let us tax alcohol and tobacco but they don't.

All our neighboring areas (I'm not close to Loudoun) have a meals tax and it doesn't stop is from eating at their restaurants.

We need the funds to keep our teachers. Our ES is losing something like 6 teachers to Arlington for next year.

This. And it doesn't need lead to smaller tips or less income for the servers either, like some people are trying to claim (probably rich snobs who can't even fathom living off a servers salary.) Working in Arlington was NO DIFFERENT tip wise from Fairfax

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The strange thing is all the democrats on TV are complaining about income inequality, but here they are pushing one of the most regressive taxes possible. Strange.

The meals tax is offsetting the lower business taxes and regulations that republicans put in place to attract companies. Unfortunately their share of the County budget has been going down. It's also offsetting the additional cost required to educate the increase in FARM and ESOL students. This has been the main driver for increases in education.

What republicans? FFX has been democrat for a very long time.

I own a business, used to be in FFX, now in Loudoun. I sure didn't leave because taxes were going down. You are just making things up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people's taxes have actually gone down in years. Amazing but true. How many times have you talked to your friends down in southern Virginia about giving back the money they take from NOVA every year? We have to pay for the infrastructure for people commuting from MD and DC to Fairfax. Why not tax them for it?

We have a progressive tax structure. Tax the rich more (NoVa) and give to the Poor (the rest of VA). If you don't like it, advocate for a fair or flat tax.

The meals tax is very regressive. What do you have against poor people?

This is simply a bad tax.

Your logic fails. Truly poor people are not eating out. This isn't a tax on groceries. They're also usually getting help from SNAP.

And for DCUM style poor, again, IT IS NOT ON GROCERIES. No one needs to eat rotisserie chickens, Starbucks, and at restaurants. And another fifty cents on a chicken isn't going to hurt. You're being incredibly melodramatic, and I say that as a low income person. I would far rather pay an extra dollar for pizza and know my kids class sizes aren't continually going up, etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The strange thing is all the democrats on TV are complaining about income inequality, but here they are pushing one of the most regressive taxes possible. Strange.

The meals tax is offsetting the lower business taxes and regulations that republicans put in place to attract companies. Unfortunately their share of the County budget has been going down. It's also offsetting the additional cost required to educate the increase in FARM and ESOL students. This has been the main driver for increases in education.

What republicans? FFX has been democrat for a very long time.

I own a business, used to be in FFX, now in Loudoun. I sure didn't leave because taxes were going down. You are just making things up.

State taxes and regulations then. They are both low. Fairfax is very restricted on what it can tax because of the state. It also has less regulation than DC or MD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There are plenty of classists in the democratic party. And the people I'm talking about leave after a few years, so they aren't included in the count for very long.

What? Leave what after a few years? And you forgot racists. You meant to say that there are plenty of racists and classists in the Democratic Party. But we all knew that, right? You're just getting around to admitting it.

Should probably admit that I'm neither a democrat or a republican. I don't see this as a party issue.

You didn't answer the question. Doesn't matter what party you are or aren't part of.

I'm sure there are racists and classists in both parties. Satisfied with that answer?

No, I'm not. You keep avoiding the actual questions I ask by saying stuff that has nothing to do with what I asked you in order to avoid the actual question. It's because you refuse to be truthful I'll assume.

[Anonymous]

I would far rather pay an extra dollar for pizza and know my kids class sizes aren't continually going up, etc

Would you still feel that way if your extra dollar was going to pay for a conference for a Gatehouse employee at Disneyworld?

[Anonymous]

This. And it doesn't need lead to smaller tips or less income for the servers either, like some people are trying to claim (probably rich snobs who can't even fathom living off a servers salary.) Working in Arlington was NO DIFFERENT tip wise from Fairfax

Ha! You keep making assumptions and getting mad and calling names when people don't agree with you, ok? Very mature, very intelligent, lol.

Listen, actual sit down restaurants where servers earn tips are probably the least likely to be negatively affected by this tax. It's more likely to affect businesses like carry out restaurants (think Chipotle, Subway, Noodles & Co etc) where middle class and poor people (the ones who can't actually afford to be taxed anymore) eat and work. And I can totally fathom living off of a server's salary, I did it for years when I was young. Also, my single mother was a server through my entire childhood. We never had any money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This. And it doesn't need lead to smaller tips or less income for the servers either, like some people are trying to claim (probably rich snobs who can't even fathom living off a servers salary.) Working in Arlington was NO DIFFERENT tip wise from Fairfax

Ha! You keep making assumptions and getting mad and calling names when people don't agree with you, ok? Very mature, very intelligent, lol.

Listen, actual sit down restaurants where servers earn tips are probably the least likely to be negatively affected by this tax. It's more likely to affect businesses like carry out restaurants (think Chipotle, Subway, Noodles & Co etc) where middle class and poor people (the ones who can't actually afford to be taxed anymore) eat and work. And I can totally fathom living off of a server's salary, I did it for years when I was young. Also, my single mother was a server through my entire childhood. We never had any money.

If they really are receiving tax increases by their landlords, why would a meals tax affect them any differently than a real estate tax increase? The fact still remains that $27 million of the County budget would be paid by out of county contributions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All for the meals tax. Let the apartment-living ESL and FARM families contribute something toward the cost to educate their kids when they go to McDonalds.

Do you understand economics? Taxes are paid on apartments and rental units, but by the landlord. The landlord passes those costs onto the renter. So the apartment living ELS and PARM people are indirectly paying realestate taxes

Not the pp, but you obviously don't understand economics. Landlords charge what the market will bear, which is a function of supply and demand. They don't merely pass on all their costs.

I teach economics, you clearly would have a problem in my class.

Yes, they charge what the market will bear. But. When it's an across the board cost that affects all suppliers equally, there is no competitive advantage to apply downward pressure. So in this case the market reacts to cost increases by reducing the quantity available until there is equilibrium. Prices will go up, though some of the cost may be absorbed in other manners like increasing the density of tenants in rental housing.

The renters will pay, it's a very regressive tax.

So, basically, you're admitting that property taxes aren't necessarily passed on to tenants. Thanks for providing an example that proves my point. One can construct various economic scenarios where property taxes aren't passed on directly to tenants. Your original statment that costs are passed onto tenants is overly simplistic - glad I got my economics degree from highly respected university and didn't have to sit through a class taught by you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This. And it doesn't need lead to smaller tips or less income for the servers either, like some people are trying to claim (probably rich snobs who can't even fathom living off a servers salary.) Working in Arlington was NO DIFFERENT tip wise from Fairfax

Ha! You keep making assumptions and getting mad and calling names when people don't agree with you, ok? Very mature, very intelligent, lol.

Listen, actual sit down restaurants where servers earn tips are probably the least likely to be negatively affected by this tax. It's more likely to affect businesses like carry out restaurants (think Chipotle, Subway, Noodles & Co etc) where middle class and poor people (the ones who can't actually afford to be taxed anymore) eat and work. And I can totally fathom living off of a server's salary, I did it for years when I was young. Also, my single mother was a server through my entire childhood. We never had any money.

If they really are receiving tax increases by their landlords, why would a meals tax affect them any differently than a real estate tax increase? The fact still remains that $27 million of the County budget would be paid by out of county contributions.

Landlords are able to impose taxes on their renters now??? I'm shocked to learn about this? Are landlords a new department of the government? Why hasn't this been reported on the news?

[Anonymous]

So, basically, you're admitting that property taxes aren't necessarily passed on to tenants. Thanks for providing an example that proves my point. One can construct various economic scenarios where property taxes aren't passed on directly to tenants. Your original statment that costs are passed onto tenants is overly simplistic - glad I got my economics degree from highly respected university and didn't have to sit through a class taught by you.

I'm not the pp that you are responding to, but what is so hard to understand? The property owner is the one who pays the property tax because they own the property. The property owner has to rent out the property for a price that is competitive with neighbor rental properties and apartments. The taxes are being paid. The taxes are paid by collecting rent from the tenant, so both the landlord and the tenant are contributing to the payment of the tax. What difference does it make to you (assuming that you aren't renting a property or renting it out to a tenant) how or who pays the tax, as long as it gets paid? Oh, you only care about convincing people that you're right and everyone else is wrong, got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This. And it doesn't need lead to smaller tips or less income for the servers either, like some people are trying to claim (probably rich snobs who can't even fathom living off a servers salary.) Working in Arlington was NO DIFFERENT tip wise from Fairfax

Ha! You keep making assumptions and getting mad and calling names when people don't agree with you, ok? Very mature, very intelligent, lol.

Listen, actual sit down restaurants where servers earn tips are probably the least likely to be negatively affected by this tax. It's more likely to affect businesses like carry out restaurants (think Chipotle, Subway, Noodles & Co etc) where middle class and poor people (the ones who can't actually afford to be taxed anymore) eat and work. And I can totally fathom living off of a server's salary, I did it for years when I was young. Also, my single mother was a server through my entire childhood. We never had any money.

That sucks! I make great money as a server and save plenty. Guess it depends on the restaurant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This. And it doesn't need lead to smaller tips or less income for the servers either, like some people are trying to claim (probably rich snobs who can't even fathom living off a servers salary.) Working in Arlington was NO DIFFERENT tip wise from Fairfax

Ha! You keep making assumptions and getting mad and calling names when people don't agree with you, ok? Very mature, very intelligent, lol.

Listen, actual sit down restaurants where servers earn tips are probably the least likely to be negatively affected by this tax. It's more likely to affect businesses like carry out restaurants (think Chipotle, Subway, Noodles & Co etc) where middle class and poor people (the ones who can't actually afford to be taxed anymore) eat and work. And I can totally fathom living off of a server's salary, I did it for years when I was young. Also, my single mother was a server through my entire childhood. We never had any money.

No, the frequent ecoli outbreaks and the lack of sick leave leading to people coming in with norovirus are more likely to hurt the fast food chains.

But I'm sure you're right. Subway in Arlington has been really suffering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So, basically, you're admitting that property taxes aren't necessarily passed on to tenants. Thanks for providing an example that proves my point. One can construct various economic scenarios where property taxes aren't passed on directly to tenants. Your original statment that costs are passed onto tenants is overly simplistic - glad I got my economics degree from highly respected university and didn't have to sit through a class taught by you.

I'm not the pp that you are responding to, but what is so hard to understand? The property owner is the one who pays the property tax because they own the property. The property owner has to rent out the property for a price that is competitive with neighbor rental properties and apartments. The taxes are being paid. The taxes are paid by collecting rent from the tenant, so both the landlord and the tenant are contributing to the payment of the tax. What difference does it make to you (assuming that you aren't renting a property or renting it out to a tenant) how or who pays the tax, as long as it gets paid? Oh, you only care about convincing people that you're right and everyone else is wrong, got it.

The point I'm making is that an increase in property taxes does not mean renters will bear part of that increased tax burden. If you want renters to contribute to the county's tax coffers, increasing property taxes are not necessarily the best way to accomplish that.