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Old 05-28-2009, 11:51 AM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,218 posts, read 60,933,271 times
Reputation: 30081

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah
Don't forget that Maine charges that excise tax EVERY TIME you go to re-register the car. It's not a one shot deal like in most civilized states. The excise tax is based on the suggested retail price of the car if new or the NADA high retail selling price if used not the actual price you paid for the car. The tax does decrease over time but will always be far more than it is in other states. This tax is one of the primary reasons Mainers refuse to buy new cars in numbers approaching what other states buy. Old cars equals low excise tax. I have complained about this unfair and confiscatory tax to my elected representatives for years and my complaints have always fallen on deaf ears. It is a primary source of state funding, fair or not, and seems to be here to stay.
Maine is the only state I am aware of that calls it: "Excise tax"

Every other state where I have lived has called it Registration tax or fee, or Road taxes.

It does seem that Maine has the highest 'Excise taxes', because Maine is the only place that calls it this.

I have paid far higher Registration taxes previous to our move to Maine.
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Old 05-28-2009, 12:25 PM
 
Location: Maine
2,489 posts, read 3,382,690 times
Reputation: 3815
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah View Post
Don't forget that Maine charges that excise tax EVERY TIME you go to re-register the car. It's not a one shot deal like in most civilized states. The excise tax is based on the suggested retail price of the car if new or the NADA high retail selling price if used not the actual price you paid for the car. The tax does decrease over time but will always be far more than it is in other states. This tax is one of the primary reasons Mainers refuse to buy new cars in numbers approaching what other states buy. Old cars equals low excise tax.
Virginia has this annual tax too, but it's usually called "the dreaded car tax." According to the VA website, the tax is $4.57 for every $100 value of the car. A car worth $5000 would be taxed $228.50, according to them.

What would the excise tax be for this $5000 car in Maine?
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Old 05-28-2009, 02:26 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,218 posts, read 60,933,271 times
Reputation: 30081
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fern435 View Post
Virginia has this annual tax too, but it's usually called "the dreaded car tax." According to the VA website, the tax is $4.57 for every $100 value of the car. A car worth $5000 would be taxed $228.50, according to them.

What would the excise tax be for this $5000 car in Maine?
Maine Revenue Services: Property Tax -

The excise tax mil rates are posted online.

At 1 year old, the excise is 0.0240 mil rate.
So 5,000 X 0.0240 = 120

At 2 years old the excise is 0.0175 mil rate.
So 5,000 X 0.0175 = 87.50

At 3 years old the excise is 0.0135 mil rate,
So 5,000 X 0,0135 = 67.50

The mil rate goes down each year.

Somebody check my math.
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Old 05-28-2009, 02:30 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,218 posts, read 60,933,271 times
Reputation: 30081
Also for old vehicles it shifts to much lower flat fees. We can't find it on line, but when I came to Maine I was driving a Buick Century stationwagon that was 20 years old they charged me $15 each year for it.

I have a 1959 willy that I pay $5 for, and a 1982 Gold wing that I pay $5 for each year.
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Old 05-28-2009, 02:44 PM
 
Location: Maine
2,489 posts, read 3,382,690 times
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Thank you for the link, Forest! I was looking in the wrong place.

Our Honda will be 15 years old when I move up. The Subaru will be 9 years old. The taxes should not be too bad for them? We plan to keep them a lot longer. We might need another car (college student, etc.).

Is buying a new car that expensive in Maine? A basic Subaru or Honda?
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Old 05-28-2009, 03:14 PM
 
8,767 posts, read 18,562,483 times
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My wife just bought a new Saab 9-3. We were hesitant to buy the Saab as GM recently relinquished its' 51% ownership in Saab leaving them to wallow in no man's land while they look for more backing capital. The Swedish government said flatly,no, to Saab on a bail out but several companies have expressed interest in purchasing GM's interest in Saab. That said they were offering excellent deals on Saabs to clear the current inventory. We got her car for just over $20,000 with our six year old trade-in. It was marked down from the $34,000 sticker price by over $8,000! After getting a great deal on it we paid excise tax on the $34,000 suggested retail price of the car not the $20,000 we actually paid for it. This is just plain wrong! The law should be changed so you pay based on the amount of sales tax you pay at the time of purchase not on the sticker price. Who EVER pays sticker price?
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Old 05-28-2009, 03:35 PM
 
Location: Maine
2,489 posts, read 3,382,690 times
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I share your frustration with that, Maineah. Paying the tax on the MSRP price and not the actual price you paid does not seem correct to me, either.

That's why I'm wondering if I should find a great deal here in the northern Virginia area before we move up. My husband would like to buy our next car in Maine (and that's nice! ). But it looks like it will cost more up in Maine.
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Old 05-28-2009, 03:37 PM
 
Location: West Virginia
16,584 posts, read 15,507,256 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah View Post
Don't forget that Maine charges that excise tax EVERY TIME you go to re-register the car. It's not a one shot deal like in most civilized states. The excise tax is based on the suggested retail price of the car if new or the NADA high retail selling price if used not the actual price you paid for the car. The tax does decrease over time but will always be far more than it is in other states. This tax is one of the primary reasons Mainers refuse to buy new cars in numbers approaching what other states buy. Old cars equals low excise tax. I have complained about this unfair and confiscatory tax to my elected representatives for years and my complaints have always fallen on deaf ears. It is a primary source of state funding, fair or not, and seems to be here to stay.
Thinking ahead to the time I will need to register vehicles in Maine, I compared the cost of the "personal property tax" in West Virginia and the "excise tax" in Maine on the two vehicles we own and found the costs to be quite close to each other. Therefore, to me, the cost of vehicle registration in Maine does not seem excessive.
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Old 05-28-2009, 07:57 PM
 
8,767 posts, read 18,562,483 times
Reputation: 3525
Quote:
Originally Posted by mensaguy View Post
Thinking ahead to the time I will need to register vehicles in Maine, I compared the cost of the "personal property tax" in West Virginia and the "excise tax" in Maine on the two vehicles we own and found the costs to be quite close to each other. Therefore, to me, the cost of vehicle registration in Maine does not seem excessive.
So I take it taxes are high in W. VA as well? I'll pay tax, though it's unreasonable to ask people to pay tax on a figure far beyond the actual price paid for anything.
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Old 05-28-2009, 07:59 PM
 
Location: Maine!
701 posts, read 1,077,098 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by forest beekeeper View Post
Maine Revenue Services: Property Tax -

The excise tax mil rates are posted online.

At 1 year old, the excise is 0.0240 mil rate.
So 5,000 X 0.0240 = 120

At 2 years old the excise is 0.0175 mil rate.
So 5,000 X 0.0175 = 87.50

At 3 years old the excise is 0.0135 mil rate,
So 5,000 X 0,0135 = 67.50

The mil rate goes down each year.

Somebody check my math.

Thanks for the info Forest

North Carolina has property tax on vehicles as well. The link you provided only went to 6 year old vehicles. Our vehicle is 8 years old but I used the year 6 figure. We will be saving roughly $60.00 on car tax when we move to Maine



I do agree though, that it's unfair to tax on MSRP as it is rarely the case that anyone pays that amount.
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