EDITOR’S NOTE: Stafford County supervisors are scheduled to hold a public hearing Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, on a proposed Business, Professional and Occupational License tax. The letter below is from Michael Nelson of Atlas Living Group LLC in Stafford County. Potomac Local has not independently confirmed every figure in the letter.
Chairman Diggs, Vice Chair Guy, and Members of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors:
I am writing as the Founder and Managing Member of Atlas Living Group LLC and as a Stafford County resident to respectfully urge the Board of Supervisors not to impose the proposed Business, Professional and Occupational License tax in its present form.
This concern is particularly relevant to construction, development, retail, restaurant, professional-service, and other low-margin industries. Client payments may pass through a business and be used to compensate contractors and third-party professionals. Treating all those funds as taxable business income creates a distorted picture of the company’s actual financial condition.
I understand that the structure currently under consideration reportedly includes a $2 million gross-receipts threshold. While that threshold could protect many smaller businesses, it does not resolve the fundamental problem if it operates as a cliff rather than a true exemption. If a business crossing the $2 million threshold becomes taxable from its first dollar of gross receipts, two similarly situated businesses could receive dramatical
Stafford County’s lack of a BPOL tax has long provided a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining businesses. The County should not surrender that advantage without demonstrating that the proposed tax is necessary, equitable, economically responsible, and likely to provide residents with measurable relief from existing tax burdens.
Before adopting any BPOL ordinance, I respectfully request that the Board:
1. Complete and publish an independent economic-impact analysis addressing contractors, builders, restaurants, retailers, professional-service fir
4. Provide clear exclusions for documented client reimbursements, pass-through funds, and payments made to subcontractors, architects, consultants, vendors, and other third-party professionals.
5. Explain whether BPOL revenue would replace existing taxes, provide measurable property-tax relief, or merely create an additional source of county revenue and spending.
6. Eliminate the merchants’ capital tax if BPOL is adopted so businesses are not subjected to overlapping local tax burdens.
7. Include a three-year sunset provision requiring a public evaluation and an affirmative Board vote before the tax may continue.
Stafford businesses already contribute to the County by creating jobs, purchasing local goods and services, supporting community organizations, occupying commercial properties, and generating existing tax revenue. County policy should encourage businesses to grow—not impose a tax that disregards whether those businesses are financially successful.
I therefore respectfully ask the Board to reject the proposed BPOL tax in its current form and work openly with Stafford’s business community to develop a more equitable, transparent, and growth-oriented approach.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Nelson
Founder and Managing Member
Atlas Living Group LLC
Stafford County, Virginia
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8. Require a separately advertised public hearing before any future Board may increase the BPOL rate or lower the gross-receipts threshold.
9. Establish a formal small-business advisory group to participate in evaluating BPOL and developing alternative revenue proposals.
ms, startups, and other low-margin businesses.
2. Clearly disclose the proposed tax rates, business classifications, exemptions, implementation costs, enforcement procedures, and projected net revenue after administrative expenses.
3. Structure any gross-receipts threshold as a true exemption so businesses are taxed only on receipts exceeding the threshold—not retroactively from their first dollar.
ly different tax treatment simply because one earned slightly more revenue.
Such a structure could discourage growth, penalize businesses for expanding, and encourage companies to reconsider whether Stafford remains the best place to establish or maintain their operations.
I recognize that Stafford County must fund its schools, public safety, transportation, infrastructure, and other essential services. I also understand the pressure placed on homeowners by rising property assessments and real-estate taxes. However, imposing a tax on business gross receipts—without regard to whether a business earns a profit—is neither fair nor economically sound.
A business can generate substantial gross revenue while retaining only a small percentage after paying employees, subcontractors, architects, consultants, vendors, insurance, materials, equipment, financing costs, and other operating expenses. Under BPOL, that business could owe tax even if it earned little profit or sustained a loss.
