taxes | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published April 6, 2011 at 6:00AM | Updated April 6, 2011 at 11:27AM

Kaine Announces U.S. Senate Candidacy — Former Virginia governor Tim Kaine has quit his job as chairman of the Democratic National Committee to run for the U.S. Senate in Virginia. Kaine is running for the seat of the retiring Sen. Jim Webb (D). Announced Republican candidates for the seat include former governor George Allen and state Tea Party leader Jamie Radtke. [Washington Post]

Sorority to Hold Chili Cook-Off and Bingo Fundraiser — The Northern Virgina alumnae chapter of the Delta Gamma sorority will hold a chili cook-off and bingo fundraiser at the Lyon Village Community House (1920 N. Highland Street) on Saturday night. The event starts at 7:00 p.m. and benefits the blind and visually-impaired. Tickets are available online for $25 apiece. [Clarendon Nights]

News

Civic Federation Makes Budget Recommendations

By ARLnow.com

Published April 5, 2011 at 3:58PM

The Arlington County Civic Federation will discuss the county and school budgets at its monthly meeting tonight.

At the meeting, the federation’s revenues and expenditures committee will reveal its suggested modifications to the county manager’s budget.

News

Small Business Owners Decry Taxes, Sign Ordinance

By ARLnow.com

Published April 4, 2011 at 2:14PM

On Thursday night Arlington County held a small business ‘listening session’ at Clarendon Ballroom. More than 50 business owners showed up to tell county staff what they like and don’t like about how the county treats small businesses.

The event was part of County Board Chair Chris Zimmerman’s year-long push to make Arlington more small-business-friendly. Zimmerman gave the opening and closing remarks at the event, but it was county planning and economic development staff who led the group discussions that were the evening’s main substance.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 25, 2011 at 9:14AM

Tax Rate Hearing Sparsely Attended — Compared to the three-hour, 75-speaker bonanza that was the March 22 budget hearing, last night’s County Board tax rate hearing was an intimate, low-key affair. The board heard a half hour of testimony from two polar opposite sides: those who want the tax rate lowered and those who want to see the tax rate raised. [Sun Gazette]

DCA Controller Suspended — An air traffic controller suspected of snoozing on the job while two planes landed has been suspended by the Federal Aviation Administration. While some are calling the incident a major safety failure, one retired pilot says the air safety system worked as intended when a regional air traffic controller stepped in to guide the planes. [Christian Science Monitor]

Opinion

Morning Poll: Libraries vs. Taxes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 22, 2011 at 7:57AM | Updated March 22, 2011 at 8:33AM

Although Arlington will benefit from rising property values this year in the form of higher tax collections, the Board still must make tough choices when it comes to deciding what to fund and how to fund it.

County Manager Barbara Donnellan has recommended keeping real estate taxes steady at 95.8 cents per $100 in assessed value, following a year in which the rate jumped 8.3 cents. The Board gave itself the flexibility of raising that rate slightly by advertising a 96.8 cent rate.

News

County Sees Revenue Loss As State Funds Dry Up

By ARLnow.com

Published March 16, 2011 at 9:56AM | Updated March 16, 2011 at 12:23PM

Arlington has had to make service cuts in each of the past two budgets as taxes and other revenue sources dried up. After 2009, assessed property values suffered their first year-over-year decline since 1995, prompting the county to hike property taxes to make up for what otherwise would have been a dramatic loss of revenue.

When it comes to real estate taxes, the county can always increase the tax rate for an expected revenue shortfall. But one area that’s largely out of the county’s control is the funds it receives from the state. And in the past four years, overall state funding to Arlington County — excluding schools — has dropped $18 million.

News

Tax Enforcers on the Prowl for Sticker-Less Cars

By ARLnow.com

Published March 4, 2011 at 10:23AM

In neighborhoods like Colonial Village, tax enforcement officers seek out vehicles with out-of-state tags and/or without Arlington registration stickers. They take notes, snap photos and then send letters to the owners, if need be.

The Personal Property Enforcement Program has collected more than $6 million in lost revenue in seven years, according to Ingrid Morroy, the county’s Commissioner of Revenue.

Around Town

More Local Restaurants Falling Behind on Meals Tax

By ARLnow.com

Published February 24, 2011 at 2:31PM

A number of restaurants have fallen farther behind on their payment of Arlington County meals taxes. Such tax delinquencies are sometimes a sign of shaky financial health, as was the case for failed restaurants like Bebo Trattoria, Restaurant Vero and McGinty’s Public House, all of which still owe tens of thousands of dollars to the county.

The latest delinquency list shows that Front Page Restaurant in Ballston (4201 Wilson Blvd) ran up an additional $23,000 tab with the county between December and February. The restaurant now owes Arlington $46,531.82. As of August, it only owed $17,113.52.

News

Arlington’s Hotel Tax Bill Fails in House of Delegates

By ARLnow.com

Published February 23, 2011 at 3:59PM | Updated February 23, 2011 at 5:15PM

A bill that would have renewed Arlington’s 0.25 percent hotel tax surcharge failed in the Virginia House of Delegates yesterday. The bill, which was approved by the state Senate, did not get the necessary two-thirds vote to pass.

An earlier House version of the bill failed to get out of committee after it was blocked by Del. Tim Hugo. The Fairfax County Republican cited Arlington’s lawsuit against high occupancy toll lanes on I-395 as his reason for blocking the bill.

News

County Board Advertises Small Tax Rate Increase

By ARLnow.com

Published February 16, 2011 at 8:00AM

The board will now be able to set the FY 2012 property tax rate at or below 96.8 cents per $100 in assessed value. The current rate — the rate that Donnellan recommended in her proposed budget — is 95.8 cents per $100.

Last year, when the board set the property tax rate at 1.6 cents above Donnellan’s recommended figure, the advertised rate was 96.5 cents.

News

Arlington Hotel Tax Surcharge Passes House Subcommittee

By ARLnow.com

Published February 9, 2011 at 3:57PM

A House of Delegates Finance subcommittee approved Arlington’s hotel tax surcharge bill today. It’s expected to be taken up by the full committee on Monday.

The bill that was under consideration today was approved by the Democrat-controlled state Senate in January, under the leadership of Arlington’s Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple. A House version of the bill, introduced by Del. Bob Brink, failed to make it out of committee after being blocked by a key Republican.

News

No Real Estate Tax Hike in County Manager’s Proposed Budget

By ARLnow.com

Published February 8, 2011 at 3:42PM | Updated February 8, 2011 at 5:05PM

Under the proposed budget, the real estate tax would remain steady at 95.8 cents per $100. The 95.8 cent rate was approved by the board last year after Donnellan, then the acting county manager, proposed a rate of 94.2 cents.

Arlington is benefiting from a 6.3 percent hike in assessed property values, which is expected to bring in an additional $30 million in tax revenue for the county. In September, when the county was expecting a smaller increase in assessments, then-County Manager Michael Brown warned that tax hikes and spending cuts might be necessary. Neither prediction is coming to fruition under the Donnellan’s proposed budget.