A public hearing to consider reducing Gloucester’s Business, Professional and Occupational License tax rates will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the colonial courthouse.

The county’s board of supervisors has reconsidered the BPOL tax rates it adopted on April 18, 2016, which became effective January 1 of this year, and wants to consider reducing the rates for financial, real estate and professional services and repair, personal and business services.

If adopted, the change would take effect retroactively from when the new rates began. This means the board would refund any overpayment of BPOL taxes paid by those services this year. 

The reconsideration comes after a number of local business owners have complained that they are paying upwards of 350 percent more of that tax than they were paying last year. The owner of one of these businesses, Dr. Joe Leming of Courthouse Family Medicine, PLLC, sent an e-mail to each of the supervisors earlier this year after realizing...