The city of Madison’s Finance Committee took no action this week on a proposed $40 vehicle registration fee that would be the most expensive such municipal fee in the state, according to an article in the Wisconsin State Journal.
The controversial fee, dubbed a wheel tax by critics, would be applied in addition to a $28 fee imposed last year by Dane County, and the state wheel tax that was increased by $10, to $85, in the current state budget, bringing the total vehicle registration cost for city residents to $153.
Alders on the Finance Committee noted the regressive nature of the proposed fee, which would be imposed on rich and poor alike.
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway proposed the fee as part of her $340 million budget. It would bring an estimated $7.9 million in revenue to the city and help balance the 2020 municipal budget. If approved, the city could begin collecting the fee in February.
