Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) says Virginia workers shouldn’t pay state tax on tips they get from customers.
Adopting the policy — supported on a federal level by both president-elect Donald Trump and vice president Kamala Harris during the recent election — would let tipped workers keep an extra $70 million each year throughout the Commonwealth, the governor’s office said in a press release Monday.
Pretty soon email inboxes won’t get those monthly newsletters from Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson. It’s the end of an era in the city, as Wilson leaves office in January.
Wilson is looking forward to it.
Personal property taxes, also known as car taxes, are due today in Alexandria, and new penalties make late payments pricey.
City Council approved City Manager Jim Parajon’s proposal in the spring to increase the late payment penalty from a flat rate of:
With visitation revenue at an all-time high, Alexandria’s tourism bureau forecasts an “ambitious” agenda for fiscal year 2025.
On Thursday, Visit Alexandria reported an 18% increase (to $941 million) in tourism spending in FY 2024. The city also saw $86 million in consumption tax revenues from sales, meals and lodging, a 6% increase. The largest consumption increase was in lodging, rising from $3 million during the pandemic to $15 million last year.
Alexandria is still working out the kinks in its short-term rentals policies, but rentals on sites like Airbnb have already taken over a considerable amount of the city’s transient lodging market.
In a newsletter, Mayor Justin Wilson said there are over 700 short-term rentals in Alexandria, comprising less than 1% of the city’s housing stock, but that those rentals account for over a quarter of the city’s transient lodging tax revenue — a market traditionally defined by hotels.
Sarah Bagley says that Alexandria residents have invested time and energy into making her an effective member of the Alexandria City Council, and she says she’s running for reelection to honor that investment.
A lot has changed in the city since Bagley was first elected and then virtually sworn in in January 2022. Alexandria was on the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic and has since gone through a crime surge, the introduction and the failure of the Potomac Yard arena deal, a number of key changes in departmental leadership (namely the police and fire chiefs) as well as the controversial upending of the city’s residential zoning policies.
The Alexandria City Council unanimously approved new outreach guidelines for the potential creation of a Business Improvement District (BIDs) in Old Town on Tuesday night.
Without buy-in from 60% of impacted property owners, previous efforts to get BIDs started in Old Town failed. Consequently, City Council on Tuesday night approved the amended rules stipulating that property owners will now be sent petitions via certified mail, and that their non-response within 30 days will be counted just as if they vote in opposition.
Elderly Alexandrians could find it a little easier to get tax relief this year.
A new amendment being considered at a City Council meeting on Saturday, May 18, would increase the allowable gross household income in the city’s Real Estate Tax Relief program for the Elderly and Disabled.
After missing an important mayoral debate this week due to a “freak accident” while canvassing that led to his hospitalization, Steven Peterson says that he’s done sitting on the sidelines.
Peterson said that got 10 stitches in his nose and suffered a concussion after his 105-pound Golden Retriever chased a squirrel and he face-planted on a gravel path at the West End Farmer’s Market on Sunday. He said that the leash was wrapped around his legs and that he flipped over after the dog bolted.
Alexandria’s City Council will approve its fiscal year 2025 budget in a little more than a week, and important actions will be taken between now and then.
On Wednesday (April 24), Council will hold a public hearing on the city’s tax rate. Last month, a 4-cent tax ceiling was approved for consideration, allowing city staff and local legislators wiggle room in analyzing funding options in exchange for raising taxes. Each penny added to the tax rate is about $4.7 million, and a 4-cent tax increase would bring in $18.8 million.
It’s about to get a little more expensive to live in Alexandria.
On Saturday, City Manager Jim Parajon will present City Council with proposals to increase:
