Should Fairfax County Impose Restaurant Tax?

Your commute may get shorter but your wallet may be thinner if Fairfax County gets the clearance to impose a 4 percent meals tax at restaurant.

The tax would go for transportation funding. Springfield Supervisor Pat Herrity says the county needs $3 billion to pay for roads projects, reports WTOP.

Voters rejected the meals tax in a 1992 referendum and the Board of Supervisors rejected a similar proposal in 2010.

In order to instill a meals tax, which would raise an estimated $80 million a year, Fairfax County needs either approval from the General Assembly or from voters in a referendum.

Herrity told WTOP time is running out to raise money for several key transportation projects. They include the second phase of Metro expansion from Reston to Dulles International Airport and upgrading roads around Tysons Corner.

 "We've got ourselves backed into a corner," says Herrity. He says developers should be paying for more of the necessary transportation improvements.