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Rappahannock supervisors debate combined B&B tax option and approve 1% sales‑tax referendum resolution
Summary
Supervisors reviewed treasurer analysis of bed‑and‑breakfast reporting and asked staff to draft a combined meals‑and‑lodging rate option (example: 7.5%) for the board to consider; the board also approved a resolution petitioning the circuit court to place a 1% local sales‑tax referendum for school capital on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors examined how bed‑and‑breakfasts and country inns report meals and lodging taxes and debated whether to allow those businesses to use a single combined rate instead of separate meal and lodging rates.
Staff said two such businesses reported combined returns in the most recent fiscal year; at current split rates (5% meals, 10% lodging), those returns produced $25,764 in tax revenue for the period reviewed. The board discussed several policy options, including keeping the split rates, eliminating the combined filing option, or allowing a mid‑range combined rate (staff modeled a 7.5% combined rate as an example). Staff recommended bringing back ordinance language reflecting the board’s preference for public hearing.
The board also voted to begin the process for a 1% local sales‑tax referendum restricted to school capital projects. Under the final state budget language, local governing bodies may place a 1% local option sales‑tax question on the ballot to fund school renovation and construction; the board approved a resolution directing the county attorney to petition the circuit court to place the referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot. Board members discussed outreach and noted that county officials and the school division must remain neutral in any voter education published by the governing bodies.
Outcome: Staff will return with draft ordinance language that contemplates a combined rate (example: 7.5%) for the board to consider and, separately, the county attorney will file the petition to place the 1% local sales tax referendum on the November ballot.
