Living, working, eating costlier

Omaha's tax hikes and new wheel fee will hit you where you live, work, eat and drive.

Last month, the City Council and Mayor Jim Suttle signed off on a 2011 city budget package that includes a new 2.5-cent tax on restaurant, bar and catering bills, a 2.3-cent property tax hike and a $15 increase in the city's wheel tax, to $50.

The budget also includes a new $50 commuter wheel fee, which, in effect, extends the reach of the wheel tax to people who work in Omaha but haven't been paying the tax.

The hike in the city wheel tax takes effect Thursday. The rest will be in place by Jan. 1, at the latest.

In all, the taxes and new fee will generate $29.5 million in additional city revenue. The mayor and council members say the city needs the money to help address a city budget shortfall, pay for street work and put more money into the city's troubled police and fire pension fund. The 2011 budget also includes $13.5 million in city spending cuts.

Some taxpayers have expressed outrage at the increases, and one group is mulling a recall campaign against Suttle because of them.

Click here to learn how the new taxes impact an engaged couple, a married couple and a woman who commutes from Iowa.

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