taxes | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published November 4, 2020 at 7:45AM

Greens Want Tax Hike for New Initiative — “The Arlington Green Party is seeking a five-fold increase in one local tax in order to fund an environmental initiative. The party in late October promoted the idea of the county government giving owners of single-family properties in Arlington $1,000 credits to have energy audits conducted and then take cost-effective steps to improve efficiency…. The party wants to increase the existing utility tax from $3 per household per month to eventually hit $15 per household per month.” [InsideNova]

Looking On the Bright Side — “And the winner is: free paper yard waste bags. Available at five County sites during leaf season.” [@ArlingtonDES/Twitter, Arlington County]

News

Arlington County Board Says Potential Bag Tax Must Consider Equity

By Jo DeVoe

Published October 21, 2020 at 3:50PM

Members of the Arlington County Board say that before they enact a local tax on plastic bags, they need time to identify and avoid the unintended consequences of one.

“The most vulnerable suffer the most from pollution and will suffer the most when we try to clean it up,” Board Chair Libby Garvey said during the County Board recessed meeting on Tuesday afternoon. “We’re going to try and do it right and be aware of the pitfalls, and there are a lot.”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 6, 2020 at 6:00AM

Ballston Movie Theater to Close Again — “Cineworld Group, the owner of Regal Cinemas, will suspend operations at all of its theaters in the United States and the United Kingdom beginning on Thursday. The closures will affect 45,000 employees.” [CNN, Axios]

N. Va. Trending in Right Direction — “The health department’s new pandemic metrics, updated Monday based on data through Saturday, show that the disease is currently at a ‘low burden’ level in Northern Virginia, is trending downward, and has low levels of community transmission. All other region’s of the state either have moderate or high levels of burden of the virus and community transmission.” [InsideNova]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 29, 2020 at 6:00AM

Work continues on the Netherlands Carillon in September 2020 (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

New Name for Green Valley Park — “A year after it was first proposed, the renaming of Nauck Town Square in honor of a longtime Green Valley civic leader looks headed to success. The name ‘John Robinson Jr. Town Square’ has won the support of the Park and Recreation Commission, Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Commission, Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) and the civic associations of Green Valley, Shirlington and Douglas Park.” [InsideNova]

Beyer Blasts Trump Taxes –“The revelation that Donald Trump paid almost no personal income taxes for many years is not surprising, but it is outrageous. Far more important, however, is Trump’s use of the government for his personal benefit rather than that of the American people.” [Press Release]

News

Temporary Location Opens to Pay Vehicle, Real Estate Taxes

By Scott Fields

Published September 22, 2020 at 10:40AM | Updated September 22, 2020 at 11:06AM

Arlington County has opened a temporary tax payment location.

As the Oct. 5 deadline approaches for vehicle personal property taxes and the second installment of real estate taxes, the Arlington County Treasurer’s Office on Monday opened a temporary payment location at Thomas Jefferson Community Center (3501 2nd Street S.) to accept payments in person.

News

Morning Poll: Should Plastic Shopping Bags Be Taxed?

By ARLnow.com

Published July 23, 2020 at 10:00AM | Updated July 23, 2020 at 10:28AM

The Arlington County Board appears likely to consider a tax on plastic shopping bags later this year.

At the Board’s Saturday meeting, a volunteer from the group EcoAction Arlington spoke in favor of a five-cent tax on plastic bags, similar to that which has been implemented in D.C. and other cities, during the public comment period.

News

BREAKING: Proposed County Budget Slashed

By ARLnow.com

Published April 6, 2020 at 4:40PM | Updated April 7, 2020 at 1:34PM

County Manager Mark Schwartz (file photo)

No raises, few areas of additional spending and a couple of delayed openings.

That’s the summary of County Manager Mark Schwartz’s revised budget proposal, as announced by Arlington County on Monday afternoon.

News

Arlington Expected to Get Second-Smallest Share of Stimulus Checks

By ARLnow.com

Published April 3, 2020 at 12:30PM

Money (by Sharon McCutcheon/Unsplash)

Arlington County is an affluent place. So affluent, in fact, that according to one analysis we are expected to get the second-lowest percentage of coronavirus stimulus checks in the U.S.

The study by the financial website SmartAsset ranked the 200 largest U.S. cities by the predicted percentage of residents who will receive the means-tested checks from Uncle Sam.

News

Treasurer: Tax Payments Can Be Deferred Without Penalty

By ARLnow.com

Published March 20, 2020 at 1:30PM

Arlington Treasurer Carla de la Pava in 2014 (file photo)

In a bit of relief for hard-hit restaurants and hotels, Arlington County’s Treasurer says tax payments due between now and the end of April can be deferred temporarily.

Treasurer Carla de la Pava said in a statement that her office will not impose penalties and interest on late tax payments, though tax returns are still due. The decision mostly affects meals taxes, paid by restaurants, and hotel taxes, and requires payment by May 31.

Opinion

What’s Next: Taxation Toolbox

By Nicole Merlene

Published March 12, 2020 at 2:00PM | Updated March 12, 2020 at 2:26PM

(Updated at 2:15 p.m.) Tax and budget season is upon us. County Manager Mark Schwartz has released a recommended budget of $1.396 billion, including increased tax revenues from increased assessments and increased county expenditures.

While I will not go into specifics of this year’s budget, I would like to begin a dialogue about systemic changes that the County Board should consider in the long-run about how we levy taxes.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 11, 2020 at 9:00AM | Updated March 11, 2020 at 11:12PM

Coronavirus Case in Falls Church — “On Mar. 9, a U.S. Navy civilian employee at the US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) in Falls Church, Virginia, tested ‘presumptive positive’ for the coronavirus (COVID-19)… The individual is currently at a hospital in Northern Virginia.” [U.S. Navy]

Northam Signs Arlington Tourism Tax Bill — “The governor’s signature on March 2 made it official – Arlington will now be able to impose a surtax on hotel stays, with the proceeds going to tourism promotion, in perpetuity. Gov. Northam signed legislation patroned by state Sen. Janet Howell (D-Fairfax-Arlington) removing the ‘sunset clause’ from existing legislation allowing Arlington to tack on an additional 0.25 percent to the 5-percent transient-occupancy tax imposed by the county government on those staying in hotels and motels.” [InsideNova]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 4, 2020 at 7:30AM

Biden Wins Virginia — “Virginia voters have overwhelmingly given former Vice President Joe Biden a sizable win over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in Tuesday’s primary election. According to unofficial state election returns, Biden has been called the winner of the state with 53.3 percent of what was a record primary turnout, and will capture the largest share of its 99 delegates.” [Patch, Washington Post]

Bernie Underperforms 2016 — In the two-way race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in 2016, Sanders captured 33% of the vote in Arlington. Yesterday, he received 19% of the vote, a close third to Elizabeth Warren at 20%.