Stafford’s BPOL Decision Is Approaching: What Residents Should Know Before Tuesday’s Public Hearing

Public hearing: Tuesday, September 15, 2026, 6:30 p.m. · Stafford Government Center, 1300 Courthouse Road, Stafford, VA 22554.

Stafford County supervisors have scheduled a hearing on whether to restore a Business, Professional and Occupational License tax, or BPOL. The county has not adopted the tax. Voting to advertise a hearing was a procedural step, not final approval.

What is under consideration?

Commissioner of the Revenue Scott Mayausky has described a structure with a $2 million annual gross-receipts threshold and an initial rate of 16 cents per $100 of gross receipts in the main business categories. According to his explanation reported by Potomac Local, a business above that threshold would owe tax on qualifying receipts from the first dollar, rather than only the amount above $2 million. The Board has not enacted those terms.

Gross receipts measure business revenue before expenses; they are not the same as profit. For illustration, applying 16 cents per $100 to $3 million in qualifying receipts would produce $4,800 in tax. That example does not account for classification, sourcing rules, exemptions, deductions or any final ordinance. A business's expenses and profit margin would affect the economic significance of the payment, but not the gross-receipts calculation itself.

Revenue estimates and offsets

Mayausky has estimated that a system similar to Spotsylvania County's could collect approximately $3.5 million to $4 million annually. He has also said Stafford does not yet receive all the business gross-receipts data needed for a precise estimate. The existing merchants' capital tax on inventory reportedly brings in about $1.1 million a year and could be replaced for affected businesses.

Previously discussed administrative costs of roughly $300,000 to $350,000 are another potential offset. Using the upper ends of these reported figures solely as an illustration, $4 million in collections less $1.1 million in replaced revenue and $350,000 in administration equals $2.55 million. That calculation is not a county forecast; the final net amount depends on the ordinance, overlap between taxes, actual collections and implementation costs.

What residents and businesses have said

The Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors and Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce have opposed the proposal. Business executives cited in local reporting have raised concerns about taxing receipts rather than profits and about Stafford's competitive position. Former supervisor and delegate Paul Milde, who is organizing the No BPOL Stafford campaign, said his petition grew from approximately 1,550 signatures presented in August to more than 2,000 by early September; those are campaign-reported figures.

Supporters of considering BPOL have pointed to the possibility of broadening county revenue beyond residential property taxes and asking businesses that use county services to contribute. Whether BPOL collections would lead to a specific reduction in homeowners' tax bills would depend on later budget and tax-rate decisions; a new revenue source does not itself set a lower property-tax rate.

How the hearing was scheduled

The Board voted 4–2 in August to advertise the September 15 hearing. Chairman Deuntay Diggs and Supervisors Maya Guy, Pamela Yeung and Kecia Evans voted in favor of holding it; Crystal Vanuch and Tinesha Allen voted against. Darrell English was absent. Guy said her vote to schedule public input should not be interpreted as a vote to approve BPOL.

Questions the public record can clarify

1. What threshold, rate and classifications appear in the proposed ordinance?
2. Would businesses above the threshold owe tax on all qualifying receipts or only the excess?
3. What are the estimated gross collections, replaced merchants' capital receipts, administrative costs and net new revenue?
4. Is any property-tax reduction proposed, and if so, how would it be calculated?
5. What analysis has been done on potential effects on business recruitment, retention and expansion?

The public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, September 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Stafford Government Center, 1300 Courthouse Road. Residents can review the latest agenda and meeting information through the county's official meeting portal linked below. The hearing provides an opportunity for testimony before the Board decides whether and how to proceed.