Stafford County is the largest locality in Virginia without a Business, Professional and Occupational License tax. On Tuesday, Sept. 15, supervisors will hold a public hearing on whether to bring BPOL back.
Listen to the audio version above, or watch the full Potomac Local News Podcast at the bottom of this story. The interviews with Commissioner of the Revenue Scott Mayausky and former supervisor Paul Milde are the source for what follows. The episode is also on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, RSS.com, and wherever you already get podcasts.
BPOL is a local tax on a business’s gross receipts — total revenue — not profit. A firm can lose money after rent, payroll, and inventory and still owe the tax. Stafford repealed its version around 2008 and has since collected a merchants’ capital tax on retailers’ inventory, which Mayausky said brings in about $1.1 million a year.
The structure Mayausky presented to the board starts with a $2 million gross-receipts threshold modeled on Spotsylvania County and, for the first year, a flat 16-cent rate on the main business categories so his office does not have to classify thousands of firms overnight. That threshold is not a write-off. Once a business crosses $2 million, it pays on dollar one. Mayausky estimated a Spotsylvania-style tax could generate $3.5 million to $4 million before Stafford gives up merchants’ capital — a net in the neighborhood of $3 million if those numbers hold. He said he cannot require businesses to report gross receipts until the tax exists, so the revenue figure is still an estimate.
On Aug. 19 the Board of Supervisors voted 4–2 to advertise the Sept. 15 hearing. Chairman Deuntay Diggs and Supervisors Maya Guy, Pamela Yeung, and Kecia Evans voted yes. Crystal Vanuch and Tinesha Allen voted no. Darrell English was absent and has said he does not support the tax.
Milde, who helped lead the 2008 repeal and now runs the opposition campaign at NoBPOLStafford.org, told Uriah Kiser a high threshold does not fix the problem that killed BPOL last time. He argued Stafford has already stacked property-tax increases, meals tax, hotel tax, and commercial impact fees, with a one-cent sales-tax referendum still ahead in November.
“Making it more expensive to do business is just a horrible idea,” Milde said.
Opposition hardened this week. On Sept. 9 the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors sent a letter opposing the tax on behalf of about 1,700 members. On Sept. 10 the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce followed. Chamber CEO Susan Spears said the group is concerned a new gross-receipts tax “could undermine Stafford’s competitive position at a time when businesses of all sizes are already managing increased costs for labor, insurance, utilities, materials, and other operating expenses.
Mayausky does not take a public position on whether supervisors should adopt the tax. He said his office would have to administer whatever they pass. Data centers, he said, are not exempt from local BPOL, but he does not expect a windfall from them.
The hearing is Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the Stafford Government Center, 1300 Courthouse Road. The podcast walks through the five business categories, how merchants’ capital would change, and why Mayausky recommended a flat first-year rate. That detail is in the audio and video, not in this recap.
Watch or listen to the entire podcast
The quotes above are from Mayausky’s and Milde’s interviews with Uriah Kiser. The audio player is at the top of this story. The video version is below. Search Potomac Local News on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any podcast app.
