For months, supporters of Washington’s ever-growing fleet of food trucks had heard stories of high-level meetings inside the Wilson Building. They worried that D.C. officials were huddling with representatives of the business community and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, who they believed wanted the city to flatten the tires of these “mobile interlopers” stealing their customers and cluttering their sidewalks.

Perviously, food trucks paid a flat fee to the D.C. government rather than charge a sales tax. The change is part of new vending regulations passed this year. According to a memorandum in March from the D.C. Office of the Chief FInancial Officer, the new sales tax stream is estimated to generate $3.45 million