(Smith County Insider Press) Carthage, Tenn. – On Monday night, May 8, the Smith County Commission unanimously voted on the first reading of a resolution to repeal the $50 privilege tax or “wheel tax” for motor vehicles and to repeal the $25 privilege tax for motorcycles.
In 1999 the Smith County Commission adopted and approved a resolution to levy a county-wide wheel tax in the amount of $50 and a $25 wheel tax for motorcycles in 2006. These taxes were to be used exclusively for school bond debt retirement and indebtedness.The wheel tax along with a portion of property and sales tax revenue and an annual payment of $296,000 from the Smith County Board of Education were used to fund the 26.2 million dollar school building project which resulted in new high schools in Gordonsville and Carthage. The resolutions from 1999 and 2006 were put on a referendum for public vote, and both passed by the voters of Smith County.
The current budget and finance committee and Smith County Mayor, Michael Nesbitt, researched and determined that the remaining portion of the school debt could be paid off without needing the wheel tax revenue. The wheel tax revenue for motor vehicles and motorcycles accumulated approximately $900,000 in annual revenue.
If the resolution passes the second reading at the June 2017 County Commission Meeting, then the repeal of the wheel tax will take effect on October 1, 2017.
The school debt was scheduled to be paid in full by 2021, but is now estimated to be paid off early in 2019.
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