taxes

News

County Manager Raises Specter of More Budget Cuts, Tax Hikes

By ARLnow.com

Brown told the county board that his preliminary forecast anticipates a combined $25-35 million shortfall for the county government and the school system. Brown projects a slight increases in real estate assessments and in tax and fee collections. However, he says expenses are rising due to increasing student enrollment, new school facilities and high county personnel costs.

“Current revenue projections could require program cuts and revenue increases,” Brown said. That’s in addition to the past two years of budget cuts and tax hikes.

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Around Town

Wondering Why Your Vehicle Assessment Went Up This Year?

By ARLnow.com

“I always thought one’s car lost value from the time it left the dealer,” a frustrated resident told us in an email. “Not sure how widespread this is, but it’s creating buzz in our neighborhood.”

Actually, it’s fairly widespread. Arlington County bases its vehicle assessments on the National Automobile Dealers Association’s yearly list of vehicle values, which comes out every January 1. This year, the values of many used SUVs, crossover vehicles, trucks and vans went up.

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News

DEVELOPING STORY — County Vehicle Decals and Tax Bills Delayed Due to Printer Problems

By ARLnow.com

The printer problem wasn’t confined to Arlington. The same printing company is used by at least one other local jurisdiction, we’re told.

In Arlington, the decals must be displayed by November 15, which will give drivers plenty of time. But meeting the October 5 deadline for paying the tax may be more problematic.

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Around Town

New Additions to Meals Tax Delinquency List

By ARLnow.com

McGinty’s (3650 South Glebe Road) owes the county $25,226.64 in unpaid meals taxes, according to the latest list from the County Treasurer’s office, published on August 31. The owner of the Potomac Yard bar opened the massive P. Brennan’s pub on Columbia Pike earlier this year. As recently as July, McGinty’s was not on the delinquent list

Tortoise & Hare (567 South 23rd Street) was also not on the July list, but now owes the county $19,508.46. The Crystal City bar opened three years ago, and regularly hosts live music acts. It is also a popular football destination on Saturdays and Sundays.

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Around Town

Arlington Restaurants Paying Off Tax Debts

By ARLnow.com

A handful of tax-delinquent restaurants have all reduced their debts to Arlington County over the past eight months. But the restaurants still collectively owe the county hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid meals taxes.

The now-defunct Bebo Trattoria, Arlington Catering Company and Murky Coffee owe $133,825.80, $66,581.76 and $46,240.93 respectively as of July 12. That’s down from $156,330.96, $70,734.58 and $52,949.69 (according to a past Washington City Paper article), for a total reduction of $33,366.74 collectively.

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News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Metro Fares Going Up This Morning — Metrorail riders will start paying an extra 20 cents during this morning’s rush hour. Starting today, the peak base fare is increasing from $1.75 to $1.95. On Sunday, riders started paying $1.60 for the off-peak base fare, up from $1.45. Metrobus fares have also increased. More from Fox 5.

Pentagon Shooting Heroes Honored — The Pentagon police officers who stopped the Pentagon Metro Station shooter received the Medal of Valor from the Department of Defense on Friday. Officers Marvin Carraway, Jr. and Jeffery Amos, who were shot by 36-year-old John Patrick Bedell in the attack, were honored alongside officers Dexter Jones and Colin Richards, who also who helped to stop Bedell from entering the Pentagon on the night of March 4. More from WUSA 9.

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News

Afternoon Notes: Library Closure, Memorial Day Tax Holiday

By ARLnow.com

Glencarlyn Library Closed This Week — The Glencarlyn library will be closed tomorrow through Friday for repairs to the library’s 50 year old water pipes. The bookdrop will remain open.

Tax Holiday for Emergency Supplies — Starting tomorrow, Virginia is holding a tax holiday for emergency hurricane preparedness supplies. So stock up on batteries, bungie cords, bottled water and anything else you may need in the event of the near-perfect storm.

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News

Zimmerman Warns of Impending Doom at Metro

By ARLnow.com

In a Washington Post Op-Ed titled “The sky really is falling at Metro,” Zimmerman warns of dire consequences if the agency doesn’t get the full $11.4 billion it needs for infrastructure projects over the next decade. That “massive infusion of infrastructure investment” will only be possible if state and local leaders from D.C., Maryland and Virginia increase Metro’s funding, he writes.

Zimmerman proposes that localities, at minimum, maintain current funding levels while working to implement a new regional tax to fund Metro. Zimmerman also calls for the federal government to begin making annual payments to the agency.

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Opinion

Residents Speak Out About Tax Rate Increase

By ARLnow.com

But this is not SimCity 2000. It’s Arlington County. And here, increasing taxes provokes a fairly balanced response between those who think taxes are high enough already and those who take an “increase my taxes, please” approach.

Of the people who spoke at Thursday night’s tax rate hearing, eight asked the board to increase taxes to the maximum advertised rate to prevent cuts to programs and services.

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