The temporary freeze will go into effect Friday, and will remain in place indefinitely until the city can work out its ongoing tax collection issues with dozens of restaurant owners.
“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Richmond CAO Lincoln Saunders said of about 500 accounts that the city is reviewing in light of high tax bills due to late fees and interest charges.
“We will not open another business in the city of Richmond,” one restaurant owner said after dealing with snowballing penalties and interest on meals tax payments that have plagued other operators for years.
A state senator from Virginia Beach has introduced a bill to prevent the kind of surprise tax penalties that cost a Richmond restaurant tens of thousands of dollars in late