Bristol, Va. City Council considers raising lodging and meal taxes, lowering trash fees
BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) — The Bristol, Virginia City Council is considering raising the lodging and restaurant meal taxes and lowering trash collection fees.
The lodging tax would increase from 13% to 15% and the meal tax would go from 10% to 11%.
Last year, the council voted to raise trash fees from $33 to $60 to help offset expenses associated with the city’s now-closed quarry landfill. It was then lowered to $48.
Mayor Becky Nave said city leaders heard from residents about how the trash rates were cutting into their budgets.
“We heard from them and everyone is upset about that trash rate,” Nave said. “So that’s why we really wanted to look at what we could lower it to and how do we get to that.”
The proposed new trash rate would be $38, down from $48.
Nave said city leaders did not want to raise anything else after raising certain tax rates last year.
“I didn’t really want to raise lodging or meals taxes,” Nave said. “But we looked at it this way, by raising the meals tax, that’s 1%. So it’d be $1 on $100. And so if you look at a family that may eat out $200 worth a month, you’re talking about $2 versus having that $10 a month higher rate for trash.”
Nave said council members are hoping the proposed tax increases will be less noticeable for residents.
“And as for the lodging tax, our hope is for that, is that when visitors come to town and stay in our hotels, they’re paying that hotel bill. And a lot of times, I mean, how many times do you go stay somewhere that you look and say, ‘I got charged this tax or that tax.’ We don’t really pay attention to it. We just pay our hotel bill. You know, we usually look at the rate.”
The council will still have to approve the proposed tax rates and trash collection fees.
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