by Jon Baliles
The city of Richmond seems to be trying to plug all of the holes in its boat, also known as the U.S.S. Meals Tax Fiasco, that has been taking on water for months. It seems that the city is finally wiping out the erroneous meals tax payments and interest they had charged numerous restaurant accounts in recent years, often amounting to tens of thousands of dollars, without ever telling them the bills were so enormous.
Tyler Layne at CBS6 reported last week that Matt Mullett, the owner of Richbrau Brewing, recently got a call from the city’s Finance Director, who said the city would clear his $50,000 bill that accrued due to bad advice he received four years ago from the Finance Department when they told him he did not need to collect meals taxes on draft beer, even though the department had lost a case just a few years prior.
In addition, Mullet’s business was now finally eligible to receive Enterprise Zone grant money to improve his business. This money had already been approved several years ago, but was not released because the city said they owed all the back meals tax money. Which he didn’t. Nevertheless, Mullet took the high road and was thankful the unnecessary drama and delays were behind him so he can move forward with his business. Continue reading