A proposal to fund transportation projects in Northern Virginia by imposing a 5 percent tax on vehicle repairs could be derailed when a regional authority meets Thursday night.

Manassas Vice Mayor Harry Parrish, who sits on the authority, said he supports the other taxes and fees that are expected to generate $300 million to $400 million annually for long-awaited projects in Northern Virginia. But he indicated he wants to defeat the tax on vehicle repairs.

“I’m going to work hard to eliminate that provision,” he said.

The repairs proposal, expected to raise $33.2 million a year, would break Virginia’s tradition of avoiding levying taxes on services. If enacted, a motorist would pay an additional $10 on a $200 repair bill, for example.

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The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority will meet Thursday evening to vote on each of the seven new taxes and fees in the funding package. Each measure needs support from at least six of the nine local-government officials on the authority. The supporting officials also must represent at least two-thirds of the region’s 2 million residents. Parrish’s opposition would not nix the vehicle-repairs tax, but he could team with other officials to doom the levy.

“If you eliminate a source of revenue, it means we will have knock projects off of our list,” said Falls Church City Councilman David Snyder, also an authority member. “I don’t think that is the way to go.”

Defeating the repairs tax would please Steve Akridge, executive director of the Virginia Automotive Association, because the tax is imposed only in the four counties and five cities that comprise the state state’s legal definition of Northern Virginia. Local repair shops, he said, could lose business if motorists can drive a few miles to another jurisdiction that does not charge the tax.

“The market is very competitive and with repairs becoming as expensive as they are, people will cross county lines if they can pay less,” Akridge said.

The automotive association is also concerned about the $10 the authority plans to tack onto vehicle-inspection fees. As with the repair tax, motorists could drive to neighboring counties outside Northern Virginia, Akridge said, depriving the region’s service stations of inspection revenue.

“We understand the need for more transportation money; we just think it is unfair to put us at a competitive disadvantage,” Akridge said.

Taxes and fees

List of the taxes and fees the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority may impose to raise $400 million a year for regional road, mass transit and pedestrian projects:

» 5 percent tax on vehicle repairs

» 2 percent tax on rental cars

» 2 percent tax on hotel and motel rooms

» 1 percent tax on first-time vehicle registrations

» A tax of 40 cents per $100 of assessed value on property sales

» $10 added to the cost of vehicle safety inspections and registrations

dgenz@dcexaminer.com

jrogalsky@dcexaminer.com