It isn't new
In 1917, Omaha started collecting a wheel tax: a $1 tax that applied equally to one-horse wagons and newfangled automobiles.
A common myth
Some believe the tax started in 1960 as a “temporary” measure that never went away. People got that idea because of a one-year increase in the tax that year — from $8 to $13 — to repair streets damaged in the severe winter of 1959-60.
One-year blip
Omaha officials rolled back that $5 temporary hike in 1961, as promised. The rate remained at $8 until 1983, when it was doubled to $16.
Since then ...
Omaha has raised the wheel tax repeatedly.
Why do it now?
If approved, the higher wheel tax would generate a total of $24.6 million for street maintenance, including repairs and snow removal. That would be an $8.6 million increase, city officials estimate.
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