Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-11-12
County Business Tax
Drafted for Fairfax
Rate Program
Is Keyed to
Gross Receipts
BY MARY LOU WERNER

A proposed business and pro-
fessional license tax keyed to
gross receipts has been drafted
for Fairfax County, and will be-
taken up by the Board of County
supervisors on Wednesday.
The new tax ordinance has
been prepared by the Bureau Of
Public Administration of the
University of Virginia at the
county's request as the first step
toward adoption of a business
license program.
Already the county has antici-
lpated adoption of such tax by
including $150,000 in the 1861
budget as revenue from business
licenses. This sum represents the
amount the county would expect
to collect between next jan
uary and June 81, when the
current budget expires.
Copies Distributed
Copies of the proposed ordi-
nance and an accompanying re-
port were distributed to mem
beers Of the Board Of County
Supervisors over the week end
in preparation for a preliminary
discussion at Wednesdays meet
ing. The tax ordinance must be
advertised and studied at pub
4 lie hearing before it can be
adopted.
Nine separate categories Of
businesses are suggested, with
rates in each class varying ac-
cording to overhead and other
costs involved in different bust
nesses.
/ The bureau does not recon-
mend any single rate schedule.
1t offers three alternatives from
which the county might choose.
depending on how much income
is sought.
The nine proposed business
categories and the three alter
nate tax rates per 500 gross re-
ceipts are as follows: Retail mer-
chants. 10 cents, 20 cents and 80
cents; wholesale merchants, 8
cents. 10 cents and q cents: pro-
lfessions, IS cents. 80 cents and
$1.35; contractors. 10 cents, 20
cents and 80 cents: personal
] services, % cents, SIS cents and
SO cents; business services, rs
cents, so cents and rs cents; re-
pair services, 20 cents, 40 cents
and so cents; amusement, 80
cents, so cents and 90 cents:
manufacturers. 8 cents. 10 cents
and ~ cents.
Other Taxes Cited
Similar business taxes already
are imposed in Arlington. Falls
Church and Alexandria. A SAM
lpling Of rates in the other juris-
dictions shows Arlington charges
18 cents for retail business, Z
cent for wholesalers and IS cent
for professions. In Alexandria,
the charge is 20 cents for retail
business and $1.03 for profess
sions. Falls Church rates are
similar to Arlington's. Rates in
all three Jurisdictions are
charged per 500 gross receipts,
like the recommended Fairfax
rates.
Besides the regular business
categories. the proposed Fairfax
ordinance includes a series OF
taxes on special businesses, such
as fortune telling. Junk dealers.
loan agencies. labor agents,
pawnbrokers. peddlers, distillers.
and other undertakings that do
not generally fall into any Of
the nine classes.
Income estimates from the
three alternate rate schedules
are based on 1854 business sta
tistics. and give no real picture
of revenue the county might ex.
pect. Business has grown steadily
during the past two years. Open
ing Of the Seven Corners Shop
ping Center last month brought
big business TO Fairfax County
and stirred county heads to con-
slider the financial advantage Of
a business license tax.
Rates Compared
On the basis Of 1854 statistics.
the county would collect only
$l02.2i6 for q full year under
the lowest rate schedule and
$306,648 under the highest one.
Thus. 1t would appear at first
glance the county would have
to levy the highest rate schedule
to collect the $4,000 it has
budgeted for six-months income
from the tax.
But the bureau acknowledges
its revenue estimates are "inade.
lquate" and calls them rock
bottom estimates" which win
surely be well below the very
minimum amounts that the
county may expect TO collect in
taxes"
The bureau comedies in its
analysis Of the gross receipts tax
that 1t creates some ine4lities.
AS an example. II cites the diff.
ference In mark-ups in groceries
and tewelry stores which both
fan in the retail merchant cate.
CORY. A grocer might aim 70
operate on a 10 10 % per cent
markup. while q jeweler usually
tries for roughly so per cent. &C.
icOrdinR 10 the reuorf