OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Later this month, the Omaha City Council will have to decide whether to approve a special tax incentive that was denied by the Planning Board. The tax would help developers pay for the construction of a downtown hotel.
Construction of the hotel appears to already be underway, despite what happened at the planning board meeting.
The planning board’s decision
At the June 3 Omaha City Planning Board meeting, City Planner Don Seten told the board that Drury Hotel applied for an Enhanced Employment Area, or EEA — essentially an occupation tax — to help pay for the initial construction of the project.
“In this case, the proposed EEA is for a three percent tax on all gross hotel sales, which would essentially yield about $7.5 million, a little more, over a 30-year term,” Seten said…