Dayton approves license tax; vehicle registrations to cost more starting Jan. 1

Wayne Avenue in Dayton. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

Wayne Avenue in Dayton. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

Dayton has approved a new $5 permissive motor vehicle license tax that will help pay for roadway repairs and upgrades.

“This additional funding (will) allow the city to further address its ongoing, continuous need for roadway maintenance and roadway infrastructure improvements,” said Abbie Patel-Jones, Dayton’s director of management and budget.

The current permissive tax is $25 per vehicle registration per year in the city of Dayton, Patel-Jones said.

But she said a state bill increased the maximum permissive tax registration to $30 in 2019.

A group called the Wayne Avenue Traffic Safety Coalition is asking the city to redesign a 0.5-mile stretch of Wayne Avenue from Wyoming Street to the U.S. 35 overpass. They want the city to reduce the lanes of traffic, lower the  speed limit and add bike lanes and wider sidewalks. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

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The Dayton City Commission approved an additional $5 per vehicle levy on June 26, which will take effect in Dayton on Jan. 1, 2025.

About 111,000 vehicles are registered each year in Dayton, which means the new levy is expected to generate nearly $530,000 annually, Patel-Jones said.

Dayton will use the additional funding to help maintain the more than 500 miles of thoroughfare located across the city.

Permissive tax revenue is used to improve and repair public roads and streets.

Dayton’s funds pay for roadway maintenance and repairs, like crack sealing, traffic signal upgrades, street sweeping, pothole filling and road resurfacing, striping and deicing.

Municipalities in Ohio are allowed to approve up to half a dozen $5 levies — they cannot charge more than $30 per vehicle registration per year, says the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV).

Other municipalities across the region and state have upped their permissive tax rates in recently years. Urbana approved a new $5 vehicle registration permissive tax in 2019. Springboro approved a new $5 permissive tax in 2022, to raise its total to the maximum $30.

According to the Ohio Taxing District Code Book for 2024, 10 of the 29 cities, townships and villages in Montgomery County are already at the $30 maximum for permissive tax — Brookville, Englewood, Germantown, German Twp., Harrison Twp., Jefferson Twp., Oakwood, Riverside, Union and West Carrollton. All other jurisdictions in the county are at $20 or $25.

In Warren County, Springboro, Franklin and Carlisle are at $30, as are four of the 11 townships. Every jurisdiction in Greene County is between $15 and $25. Miami County is also at $15 to $25, except for Piqua ($30).

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