WASHINGTON — Fairfax County is struggling to move ahead with its proposal to impose a 4 percent tax on meals at restaurants, lunchrooms, cafeterias, coffee shops and delis.

A county task force studying the wisdom of the proposal is expected not to recommend that the proposal go to the next step in the process — a voter referendum.

Sources say the sharply divided 32-member task force studying the meals tax will give the Fairfax County Board its report Tuesday morning on the pros and cons of the proposal.

The sources say the task force will tell the board that the tax would help diversify the county’s tax base, but would squander the county’s competitive advantage against D.C., Arlington County and Alexandria — all of which have meal taxes.

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WTOP’s Dick Uliano contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.