Suttle unrolls toilet paper tax
Maggie O’Brien|Omaha World Herald
Omaha residents may have use Sheryl Crow's idea of using only one sheet to save money.
Mayor Jim Suttle went to Washington Tuesday flush with ideas for how federal officials could help cities like Omaha pay for multibillion-dollar sewer projects.
Among the items on his brainstorming list: a proposal for a 10-cent federal tax on every roll of toilet paper you buy.
Based on the four-pack price for Charmin double rolls Tuesday at a midtown Hy-Vee, such a tax would add more than 10 percent to the per-roll price, pushing it over a buck.
The idea came from a failed 2009 House measure by an Oregon congressman to help cities and the environment.
“I heard about it and said, ‘Well, this is simple. Let’s put it on the table,’” said Suttle. “It doesn’t mean I endorse it.”
The mayor says Omaha needs help with the metro area’s $1.7 billion bill for federally mandated sewer improvements. The work must be done by 2024.
Suttle talked about the mandate at a Tuesday meeting held by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He didn’t mention the toilet paper tax but said later that he’s open to that and other ways to cover the sewer bill.
“How are we affording this … as we come out of the recession?” he asked
Mayor Suttle’s VAT
We tax your land and tax your home,
All you possess, from crypt to dome.
We tax three ways the daily wage
Of young and old and middle age.
We tax your cigarettes, and more,
We tax the alcohol you pour.
Your restaurant has a special rate
As does your bygone dad’s estate.
We tax your car and we impose
A tax on household goods and clothes.
Your haircuts, pedicures and nails
Are taxed as services or sales.
But still the budget comes up short
And now we’ve hit the last resort.
A dime a roll – a trifling fee –
For those who want to use T.P.
Our Democratic mayor sees
He’s got the people on their knees.
And so he adds upon their backs
This little Value Added Tax!
thebardofmurdock.blogspot.com
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