Restaurant tax
Q. How much will the new tax be?
A. 2.5 percent
Q. What is subject to the tax?
A. Meals at restaurants, drinks at bars or the bills for hiring Omaha caterers.
Q. When does it take effect?
A. Oct. 1
Q. How much revenue will the tax generate, and how will the city use the money?
A. An estimated $14.8 million annually — the city has said $13 million of that will be put into the police and fire pension fund next year to help address an estimated $620 million long-term shortfall. The rest will go for city operations.
Q. Are there any exceptions to the tax?
A. Nonprofit organizations (including churches and schools), ice cream trucks, lunch carts, vending machines and food stands at free festivals or events are exempt from the tax.
Q. Is the restaurant tax the only tax that applies to a food or bar tab?
A. No. After the restaurant tax is applied, the entire bill, including that tax, is subject to a 7 percent state and city sales tax. Of the 7 percent, 5.5 percent is state sales tax and 1.5 percent is city sales tax.
Q. Is there an end date for the restaurant tax?
A. No, but it does include a sunset provision. If the Nebraska Legislature and Omaha voters were to approve at least a half-cent increase in Omaha’s sales tax rate, the restaurant tax would end.
Q. If a Council Bluffs caterer is hired for a wedding in Omaha, would the tax apply to the catering bill? What about hiring an Omaha caterer to prepare food for a party in Bellevue?
A. The tax is based on where the food is prepared, not where it’s delivered. So if someone hires a Bluffs caterer for an Omaha wedding, the bill wouldn’t be subject to the tax. But if an Omaha caterer is hired for a party in Bellevue, the tax would apply.
Commuter wheel fee
Q. What is this new fee?
A. It’s a $50 fee to be paid annually by people who live outside Omaha and suburban Douglas County but work in the city.
Q. When does it take effect?
A. Jan. 1, 2011
Q. How much revenue will the fee generate, and how will the city use the money?
A. An estimated $2.8 million — the city says it will use the money for street work.
Q. How will the fee be collected?
A. Omaha employers will take the fee out of workers’ paychecks. In return for collecting the fee, employers will keep 4 percent of the amount they collect.
Q. Do people who already pay the city wheel tax also have to pay the new wheel fee?
A. No, the new wheel fee applies only to non-Omaha residents who don’t pay the wheel tax. Many people who live in Douglas County subdivisions outside Omaha pay the wheel tax.
Q. What if someone lives outside the city and has two jobs in Omaha — one full time and one part time? Would that worker get charged twice?
A. No. The employee would pay only one wheel fee. It would be up to the employee and their employers to decide which paycheck would take the hit.
Q. What if someone takes the bus or rides a bike to work?
A. If an employee does not drive a vehicle to get to work, the fee does not apply. It affects only people who drive more than 30 days a year to get to their job.
Wheel tax
Q. How much will the tax go up?
A. The tax will increase from $35 to $50 for passenger vehicles. For pickups and 3- and 4-ton commercial vehicles, the tax will increase from $54 to $69. The wheel tax will increase $10 for motorcycles.
Q. When does the higher tax take effect?
A. Thursday — renewal notices sent out after that date will reflect the higher tax.
Q. Who is subject to the tax?
A. Omaha residents and those who live within the city’s three-mile zoning jurisdiction. That includes most Douglas County subdivisions.
Q. How much revenue will the increase in the tax generate, and how will the city use the money?
A. An estimated $5.7 million — the money will go into the city’s street maintenance budget.
Property tax
Q. How much will the city property tax rate go up?
A. 2.335-cent increase, to 49.922 cents per $100 of assessed valuation
Q. My house is valued at $150,000. How will the increase affect my property tax bill?
A. The city portion of the property tax bill would go up nearly $35, to $748.
Q. When does the higher property tax rate take effect?
A. Jan. 1, 2011
Q. Who pays the city property tax?
A. Omaha property owners
Q. How much revenue will the increase in the tax generate, and how will the city use the money?
A. An estimated $6.2 million — the city says it will use the money to fund city services.
Compiled by World-Herald staff writer Maggie O’Brien
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