Virginia goes after Out-of-State License Plates

Says self-interested VA.

Not MT.

And, not SCOTUS or the Federal court system.

CW

 

Sorry, but I don't need and ethics or morals lesson.

CW

 

that is how the state can justify big expenses. Spending $60K to get $6K and blame "tax cheaters" while jacking their price and let the bottom feeders do the calling and get screwed on everything eles. disgusting well oiled strategy.

 

I really don't think you do.

 

Okay, maybe I don't. But, you're defending, what is IMO, the indefensible.

CW

 

Yes I agree with you that many things are legal but not moral. Politician's favorable laws for themselves are a very classic example, insider trading legal, special retirement plans, special medical plans special treatment.

Politician do illegal acts that everyone else would be put in jail and they skate, look at the DNCs candidate. The list goes on and on. So what is the answer? Politicians lead by example and the example is bad so how do you expect average citizens to be any better than their leaders?

 

If you are defending people dodging taxes and breaking the law of the state they live in, I think you may.

I'm not defending the tax itself, but dodging it (illegally) is not the right thing to do. It's the wrong thing to do and punishes the law abiding citizens.

Get behind Sen. Petersen, he wants to do away with it. That's the right way to go about it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/a-democratic-senator-wants-to-kill-the-car-tax--like-gov-gilmore/2016/01/12/2c354ad2-b8a5-11e5-b682-4bb4dd403c7d_story.html

 

We get the government we deserve. Go out and vote, that's what I expect the average citizen to do. I also expect people to obey the law, but I guess I'm increasingly in the minority.

 

Well, I'm repeating myself now, but according to YOU and a self-interested, conflicted VA legislature.

CW

 

So, if we agree that the solution is at the ballot box, now tell me, please, how I may impact that vote? I am a VA property owner, but not a resident.

CW

 

There are plenty of ways you can impact it. Campaign donations, calling the representatives, showing up to town halls etc. Talk to your friends that live in state.

How long have you owned property in VA?

 

CW,

The problem is the Car Tax (which is a Property Tax). It is an onerous, despicable tax that no one likes and many schemes have been tried to avoid payment. It creates bad behavior and as long as it exists.....it will continue to do so. It generates $1.2B a year for the state and they have a dedicated enforcement team to close loopholes and prosecute people who try to get around paying it.

I agree with you that if a car is properly registered and paid for in another state.....that should be reciprocal. Unfortunately, State sovereignty gives VA the right to create their own rules which seem arbitrary and self serving. Maryland and DC have similar rules without having an onerous yearly tax.

I had friends that registered their cars in Delaware LLCs which was legal at one point to avoid the tax. Virginia basically closed that loophole by redefining how long a vehicle was in the State and its operating purpose. (Business or Personal use). As it stands today.....there really isn't a scheme that works for long and residents are urged to rat out those neighbors who have out of state plates on their cars.

18 years ago we had a Governor that tried to get rid of it by giving the localities who became hooked on it money from the General Fund (which annually is about $30B) to replace it. The State had a budget surplus then that almost made it happen. Unfortunately, it fell short and the Tax remains as the second largest source for local tax revenue (real estate is number 1).

Neither party wants to get rid of it but if it was on the ballot.....voters would have flushed it down the toilet a long time ago. It creates the wrong behavior for residents and non-resident property owners.

 

Well I do but I live in CA and am in the minority party. So I keep voting and just like shouting into the wind. We are lucky enough to have some real idiots as out political leaders. As odd as "governor Moon Beam" is he is actually one of the more responsible CA politicians, go figure?

 

Black vs. Yellow, no real difference except in appearance, and the fact the yellow plates can be personalized. Black plates cannot.

Regulations here: Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles

 

20+ years.

And, all I've seen in the locations that I've owned in are tax-grabs and reductions in services. As well as the aforementioned harassment by LEOs.

CW

 

I completely agree it's a despicable, money-grabbing tax that should be done away with. Of the 23 (I think) states that have it, VA apparently has the 2nd highest car tax in the nation. As someone who just went through a car tax issue with the state (and reside in Fairfax), I'm beyond pissed at how they go about it and what happened in my case (I don't want to share details online).

Unrelated, how do they assess values for exotics? I'm about to purchase my first Ferrari and when I tried to look up the NADA values, they were not available. The Fairfax County website says they use "other methods" when NADA doesn't have a value listed, but don't specify. I want to get an idea of what kind of tax I should expect before I buy the car. Any ideas?

 

Sharing your experience(s) might help someone else along the line. That's what forums are all about. So please share. Besides, I'm probably not the only one now curious what's happened.

 

Just took the time to look up a holy grail car (for what it is worth) to compare NADA Special Edition to Hagerty valuations- 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona:

NADA Low Retail = $227,800
NADA Average Retail = $396,500
NADA High Retail = $817,800

Hagerty #1 = $800,000
Hagerty #2 = $755,000
Hagerty #3 = $720,000
Hagerty #4 = $668,000

So, in this case, it looks like an exotic/Blue Chip owner in Loudoun County is getting a break. Let's keep this a secret. This is one of those rare cases where government incompetence is a benefit to someone.

 

It's still an ongoing matter and I'm considering legal action so I don't feel comfortable speaking about it publicly at the moment.

I will just say, it's VERY easy to be targeted by an individual if you have out of state plates. Even if your vehicle is currently out of VA, someone can report you over and over and they will treat that as evidence as against you, despite the fact that the car may have been truly out of the state.

If the tax was a reasonable % or was capped at a certain amount, you wouldn't have people trying to avoid it like this.

 

True. Was for example only. I forgot about the 25-year exemption zone, even though I have cars in that situation.

Let's try again for a 23-year old car, say a 1993 Lamborghini Diablo:

NADA Low Retail = $45,500
NADA Average Retail = 68,000
NADA High Retail = $89,700

Hagerty #1 = $140,000
Hagerty #2 = $129,000
Hagerty #3 = $114,000
Hagerty #4 = $98,000

Thus, for this example, NADA Low Retail valuation is over 50% more favorable to the owner.

 

You really don't want to use tax and avoid in the same sentence. Pretty sure avoid, legally, is the same as evade.

Sent from my SM-N900A using Tapatalk

 

Glad my info was of help.

I also am familiar with the LIS/VA Code and much more, which makes me a ringer for bar night trivia. Zzzzzzzzz.......