1. It’s Not Actually About “Meals” Don’t be fooled by the friendly-sounding name. The “meals tax” isn’t just hitting your sit-down restaurant experience. It’s a hidden tax on your morning coffee, your lunch break sandwich, your child’s after-school snack, and even the prepared foods you grab at the grocery store when you’re too exhausted to […]

1. It’s Not Actually About “Meals”

Don’t be fooled by the friendly-sounding name. The “meals tax” isn’t just hitting your sit-down restaurant experience. It’s a hidden tax on your morning coffee, your lunch break sandwich, your child’s after-school snack, and even the prepared foods you grab at the grocery store when you’re too exhausted to cook after working overtime.

This isn’t a luxury tax. It’s a tax on time-starved families, commuters, and working people who can’t prepare every meal from scratch.

2. The Money Doesn’t Go Where They Claim

Officials tout that meals tax revenue supports schools and essential services. But look closer at the budget shell game. For every dollar “dedicated” to schools from the meals tax, another dollar is quietly shifted elsewhere in the general fund.

This isn’t new money for education. It’s a fiscal sleight-of-hand that lets politicians claim they’re “funding schools” while actually expanding pet projects and administrative bloat.

Follow the money—not the marketing.

3. It Deliberately Targets Those With the Least Political Power

Why a meals tax? Because it can target people who don’t have the political organization to fight back:

• Commuters who eat in Fairfax County but vote elsewhere
• Hourly workers without flexible schedules to attend daytime hearings
• Restaurant staff who depend on customer volume for their livelihoods
• Small business owners who can’t afford lobbyists

The Democratic power structure knows exactly what it’s doing: extracting wealth from those with the least ability to resist.

4. Small Businesses—Not Corporations—Bear the Burden

While chain restaurants have compliance departments and economies of scale, your local family-owned diner faces crushing administrative costs:

• Reprogramming point-of-sale systems
• Retraining staff
• Redesigning menus
• Managing complex reporting requirements

The power brokers who designed this tax have never processed a payroll or struggled to make rent on a commercial lease. They craft policies from comfortable offices, insulated from the consequences of their decisions.

5. There Are No Sunset Provisions—Ever

The most revealing aspect? Once implemented, meals taxes never expire and rarely decrease. They’re designed as permanent extractions, regardless of economic conditions or whether their stated purpose has been fulfilled.

This isn’t temporary assistance. It’s a permanent claim on your earnings that grows only in one direction.

Meanwhile, the same Democratic officials who demand more of your money resist even basic DOGE-style audits that could identify millions in wasteful spending.

The Truth They Don’t Want You to See

Behind every percentage point of this tax lies a fundamental question: Why should working families pay more before government wastes less?

As they raise your property taxes by double digits, pile on meals taxes, and increase every fee imaginable, they’re sending a clear message: Your family’s budget must stretch, but government’s budget is sacrosanct.

This isn’t about revenue. It’s about power—who has it, who doesn’t, and who pays the price for a system designed to extract rather than serve.

We see you, Fairfax County. And we’re counting every penny you take.