Manassas holds line on BPOL tax rate

The BPOL tax in the City of Manassas will not go up after July 1, and the amount a business can gross without having to pay the tax will increase from $50,000 to $150,000, council decided May 10.
Council had considered hiking by one cent the BPOL tax paid on retail sales, real estate and professional services and contractors and subcontractors.
Keeping BPOL the same will cost the city $100,000 in revenue. Raising the gross receipts a company must earn before paying the tax will cost the city $68,000, which was planned for in the 2012 fiscal year budget, according to Councilman J. Steven Randolph.
The vote on keeping BPOL (Business, Professional and Occupational License) tax rate the same was unanimous. On the motion to up the business tax exemption, Mark D. Wolfe cast the sole nay vote.
Prince William Chamber of Commerce praised council for its votes, noting BPOL is paid on a company’s gross, not net, receipts. “Therefore, a business operating at a loss could still incur a BPOL tax,” a chamber press release noted. Eventual elimination of BPOL taxes is “a top legislative priority of the chamber,” the release added.