RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – The city of Richmond is freezing penalties and interest for restaurants that owe money for meals taxes.

The move announced on Monday comes as some restaurant owners have expressed frustration with the city over the bills they received recently.

Earlier this month, City Council passed an ordinance to change city code and fix how tax payments are applied.

“While the city strives to review all meals tax accounts, the cases that will take priority are those that are currently delinquent,” the city said in a news release on Monday. “The objective of the Department of Finance’s review is to ensure tax collections are being conducted accurately and in accordance with the applicable tax laws and regulations.”

Accounts that have existing delinquencies as of this Friday will receive a notice by mail that their account is under review.

“The review will be conducted by the Department of Finance’s Payment Allocation Review Committee and the results communicated to each business owner,” the city said.

The department has a goal to complete the review process by July 1, 2024.

“However, if the department is not able to complete an account review by July 1, a new review timeline will be communicated directly to the business owner,” the city said. “So that no business receives additional costs due to this review period, penalties and interest will be frozen for cases under review.”

During this time, the city says businesses must continue to collect and submit their monthly meals tax payments.

“The city cannot commit to waive penalty and interest on future late payments,” Monday’s news release said.

Click/tap here for more information about this plan and how the city is working with businesses.

Copyright 2024 WWBT. All rights reserved.