Photo by muohace_dc

D.C. saw an odd jump in the city’s vehicle excise tax in January, reports the Washington Business Journal, but the reason why remains a bit of a mystery:

The city’s motor vehicle excise tax collections — the price paid to title a vehicle in the District, even if it was purchased elsewhere — hit an unprecedented $7.5 million in January, two to three times the average month. The number is simply unheard of, and so far, it is unexplained.

According to the D.C. CFO, the jump could have been caused by a spike in car sales, but it is still unclear whether the increase in excise tax collections came from a sheer jump in the number of cars or just a few people buying really expensive cars. Since D.C. planning officials say that the number of vehicle registrations in D.C. has been somewhat flat relative to the number of new residents, there’s only one possible explanation: Boomtown.