Prince William County could soon see a significant shift in its meals tax policy, as several key members of the Board of County Supervisors support cutting the tax in half and eventually phasing it out.

Board Chair At-large Deshundra Jefferson told Potomac Local News she supports reducing the county’s meals tax from 4% to 2% in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, which takes effect July 1, 2025. Jefferson also wants the Board to consider a plan to phase out the tax entirely over the next few years.

“I’ve heard from small restaurant owners who say the tax is hurting their ability to stay in business,” said Jefferson. “With recent federal job cuts hitting our community, small businesses will feel the ripple effect. Cutting the meals tax is a way to ease that financial burden.”

The meals tax, enacted in 2022, is projected to generate $42 million in Fiscal Year 2025—an increase of $10 million over the previous year. Restaurant owners and hospitality workers have consistently voiced opposition, saying the tax inflates prices and cuts into their already-thin margins.

During public comment at the Board’s April 8 meeting, several residents urged supervisors to reconsider the tax.

‘Taxed enough already’

Shannon Patterson, a server at a restaurant in Woodbridge, shared an emotional plea on behalf of workers in the service industry.

“As a server, that tip is my income,” said Patterson. “If an individual has a $20 budget and there’s a meals tax, they’re still going to spend $20—but I get a smaller tip. It’s coming out of our pockets.”

She estimated losing as much as $400 per month in tips due to the tax, calling it “a tax that I didn’t ask for.”

James Rafferty, a 40-year county resident, said the tax “really hurts our county restaurants,” citing the compounding effects of inflation, labor costs, and rising goods prices.

“Lowering the tax back to 0% would be a huge help,” Rafferty said.

Cody Thomas, who works at Electric Palm Restaurant in Woodbridge, echoed those concerns. “It feels like you’re using us as an ATM machine,” Thomas told the board. “Most of us work two jobs. We don’t have time to come here and beg you to listen.”

A swing vote shifts

In what may prove to be a decisive development, Neabsco District Supervisor Victor Angry told Potomac Local News he now supports reducing the tax—a shift that could tip the balance in favor of rollback efforts.

Angry initially supported the meals tax to help fund services as new attractions were expected to boost tourism and restaurant business in eastern Prince William County. But those projects—including a massive indoor sports field house and a potential Washington Commanders stadium—have since fallen through.

“We were expecting new restaurants and increased revenue from visitors,” said Angry. “That didn’t happen. I’m open to change because the circumstances have changed.”

Gordy proposes a phase-out plan

Brentsville District Supervisor Tom Gordy, who has long criticized the meals tax, reiterated his position and shared a concrete proposal.

“I support lowering the meals tax. I issued a directive in April 2024 directing County staff to draft a proposal to cut it to 2%,” Gordy said. “It adds another burden on our residents, and we should continue working to reduce that burden.”

To offset the revenue loss, Gordy supports increasing the county’s Computer and peripheral (data center) tax to $4.15, aligning it with neighboring jurisdictions. “This diversifies our tax base while maintaining services,” he said.

A divided board

Not all supervisors have weighed in. Occoquan District Supervisor Kenny Boddye has previously defended the meals tax, calling it essential to diversifying county revenue and funding public services like police, schools, and parks.

“Receipts data since the meals tax adoption in 2022 shows consistent growth for our restaurants,” Boddye said in a statement earlier this year. He emphasized that “nearly half of restaurant-goers around attraction nodes like Potomac Mills live outside the County,” arguing the tax helps residents by leveraging visitor spending.

The Board of County Supervisors will approve the FY2026 budget in the coming weeks, with a final decision expected by the end of April.

Meanwhile, local restaurant workers like Shannon Patterson continue to hope for relief.

“COVID taxed us enough,” she said. “Do we really need another [tax] just to eat?”

Updated 10:30 p.m. – Local restaurant owners are voicing strong opposition to Prince William County’s meals tax, which is set to generate $42 million in Fiscal Year 2025—an increase of $10 million, or 31.25%, from the previous year.

Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chair At-large Deshundra Jefferson has signaled the meals tax will be discussed during the annual budget process this spring. "It would like to see a partial repeal of the meals tax, but it truly depends on our proposed budget for the next fiscal year," Jefferson told Potomac Local News.

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The Prince William Board of County Supervisors is considering proposed ordinance options that would add equity to the current business and Professional Occupations Licensing tax (BPOL) by charging a licensing fee to all businesses in the county.

Currently, only businesses with gross receipts over $500,000 pay a BPOL tax, a tax enacted to fund the second war between the U.S. and the British in 1812. The threshold has been in place since 2022 after the Prince William Chamber of Commerce pushed county supervisors in 2015 to increase the taxation threshold from $250,000.

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Stafford County leaders support new legislation allowing them to hike the county sales tax to pay for school construction.

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I’m Nelson Head, owner of Dixie Bones

The Prince William County Supervisors are up for re-election this year.

As part of the campaign, the challengers and I have visited more than a hundred restaurants throughout the county. There they learned firsthand what happened when the meals tax forced restaurants to add a collective $35 million of new charges to their checks. Not surprisingly, their customers found the food suddenly too expensive, and they stopped coming in.

They heard from servers how their tips fell by half. They saw empty dining rooms, skeleton crews, and managers and owners disheartened by the struggle to survive. They listened to customers angry over having to pay yet another tax and this one for simply eating out.

These challengers know they must end the Meals Tax if our restaurants are to survive.

In the other case, only odious, meanspirited persons would attack the livelihood of small, popular restaurants and their employees and then reward themselves with a 70% pay raise. But that is exactly what incumbent supervisors did.

Well, at least these guys can still afford to eat in a restaurant if they dare to show their face.

These incumbents expect us to believe that they gave the meals tax money to schools when anyone can plainly see the $30 million of tax money sitting idle and unused in a surplus account in the county’s coffers.

This crop of self-serving supervisors, masquerading as Democrats protecting the little guy, is way, way past their sell-by dates.

We can fix this.

Please go to endmealstax.com to meet the new supervisors who will clean up this mess.

Voting is already underway. So please go to the polls and vote for candidates who will Save Our Restaurants.

Nelson Head
Founder, Dixie Bones BBQ
Woodbridge

Restaurant owners in Prince William County are piping hot about the county's meals tax and want it repealed.

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