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Cheyenne Pagan and Will Gonzalez
19 minutes ago
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A Thursday night community meeting hosted by Richmond City Councilwoman Ellen Robertson awaited answers from the city on tax issues that have cost some business owners thousands of dollars. It was packed with local business owners.
Business owners who were told they didn’t have to collect the 7.5% meal tax from customers, then later told they did, asked city officials Thursday night for a chance to hear about the city’s solution. I stood in line. Taxes were imposed and they had to struggle to replace lost income.
Elizabeth Sexton, owner of Smoke Barbecue in Scotts Addition, was just one of the business owners who attended the meeting and owes the city thousands of dollars.
“I wanted to know what the city would say about treating businesses like that, not telling them they have to pay the bills when they think they’re OK and continuing to operate.” she said.
Richmond City Comptroller Riyad Ali said the city is working on a process to notify businesses when they owe taxes.
“The basic objective is to identify whether there are still businesses that have not received notice from the city that they are delinquent,” Ali said.
Sexton said if she had been notified by the city sooner, she could have significantly reduced her debt and resolved the issue sooner.
“I didn’t know there was a mistake on my account,” Sexton said. “If I had gotten the bill then, it probably would have been as simple as a $50 penalty. When I was informed about it two and a half years later, the interest and penalty… The amount has ballooned to $5,500 that I owe.”
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney has tasked Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Sanders with resolving the meal tax issue. In addition to changing the city’s system for identifying and notifying businesses that owe money, he suggested other solutions.
One of those proposals is to make election payments more accessible, reduce late penalties and extend payment plans. Sexton said she hopes there will be better communication from the city in the future, as miscommunication led to her situation.
“I’m optimistic that they’re going to move forward and fix some of the long-standing problems,” she said.
Sanders plans to meet with business owners next Wednesday to further discuss the meal tax issue. The meeting will be held at the Richmond Times-Dispatch offices in the 300 block of East Franklin Street at 5:30 p.m.
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