Wheel tax has many flaws

We don't pretend to have the perfect solution to Cedar Rapids' continuing revenue challenges.

But we do know whatever the final mix of revenue sources ends up to be, it shouldn't include a tax on commuters.

A “wheel tax” for people who work in Cedar Rapids but live elsewhere would be cumbersome and counterproductive.

Cedar Rapids should encourage Eastern Iowans to work and recreate in the city - not put up barriers against those activities.

City Manager Jim Prosser recently briefed council members on some of the budget challenges they'll face in the next fiscal year, including a flood-related 3 percent drop in property values, a 6 percent increase in personnel costs and increased contributions to employee pension plans.

There's no question councilors will have to be creative in order to make those and other unfriendly numbers add up.

Council member Chuck Wieneke says part of the answer might be to stick commuters with a wheel tax tacked on to annual vehicle registration fees.

It's time those people paid for their fair share of building and maintaining the city's infrastructure, he has said.

There are several problems with the idea, not the least of which is the fact it's not allowed under Iowa Code.

Councilors would have to ask state legislators to change the law before they could levy such a tax. It's unlikely that legislators would buy into the idea, and they shouldn't.

Because another significant flaw with the proposal is that the people who would pay a wheel tax would have no say in how the money is spent.

Levying a tax against people who can't vote for or against you might seem safer for elected officials than taxing your own constituents.

But it's inaccurate to say that commuters aren't pulling their own weight. While it's true they don't pay property tax in the cities where they work, they contribute to the city kitty in other important ways.

They kick in an extra penny sales tax, for example, every time they patronize local businesses.

And they create value for their employers - who not only pay property taxes but also keep the city's economic wheels turning.

We think the benefits commuters bring to the city more than make up for their impact on roads and sewers.

Census figures from 2000 show about 18,000 people commute to work in Linn County from five contiguous counties. About 5,500 of those commuters come from Johnson County.

The flow of commuter traffic goes in the opposite direction as well - especially to Johnson County. It's part of what makes The Corridor a vibrant place to live and work.

City officials would do better to keep that labor flowing than to tap commuters as just another revenue stream.