Avoiding the car tax... (Arlington, Manassas: real estate, purchase, luxury)

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by PhDLoser

good advice, Terp. Will do.

Well, I've lived in Florida, Tennessee, and Texas, all three states had no income tax and certainly no car tax, but somehow manage to have functioning roads and transportation infrastructure.

So why does Virginia need a car tax to do the same things?

States aren't doing magic with no money. All those states get their money somehow--whether sales tax or property tax or some other way.

[PhDLoser]

ACWhite, I accept the second half of your response as reasonable. The first half is not - my ability to drive a certain car should not be impeded by the state, it should only be affected by my own choices and the regular market forces, i.e., what the car company chooses to charge.

florida sales tax is about 8%, roughly 3% higher than VA. I'm not sure that makes up for a nearly $2500 total car tax I will pay if I still purchase the car I'd like (along with our other car)

[DC Oldtimer]

AFAIK the only way around the car tax is to have a car that isn't worth much according to the book. I have an old luxury car. For years my car tax was around 25 bucks. This year it is actually ZERO.

I'm not a lawyer but believe you are required to register your car with the state of Virginia within 30 days of moving here. IOW it's not legal to live here with your car registered in another state, unless an exception applies (such as being in the military). You have to decide if you want to screw with the law.

[ACWhite]

PhDLoser, your ability to drive a certain car is not impeded. You are perfectly free to drive a Rolls Royce if you want to. The car tax law simply means you have to pay more, if you choose to own one in VA, than if you choose a hybrid or a less expensive car. I will leave it to others to discuss not only the tax differences between the states you identified, but also the service/quality of life differences, e.g., quality of schools.

[BoomBoxing]

It's a ridiculous thing to complain about. VA could eliminate it and then just raise income taxes - is that what you want? At least this way you can control how much taxes you pay.

[tgbwc]

Whether you agree with it or not, the car is supposed to be registered in VA. When my (now) wife first moved here, just out of college in '93, she brought along a car from PA. The car belonged to her parents. She used it in college and was using it here too. It wasn't her car. She didn't pay for it and it wasn't in her name. Guess what? She got a notice on the windshield from PWC Police for not having it registered in the county. It actually was a pain in the butt to register it, because the address and name on the title wasn't hers. The registration form wanted the owners name and address, which she put down as her parents in PA, but that wasn't good because it wasn't a PWC address. We went rounds with the clerk until the clerk finally made it work somehow. At one point the county clerk said, "What are you waiting for? Why don't you just title it in VA?" To which my wife replied, "I can't title it in VA, because it's not my car".

[jayh]

The biggest problem I have with the car tax is the fact that our lovely politicians have exempted members of Congress, diplomats, etc., etc. To me, this is just another prime example of how our politicans love taxes because they never intend to pay them themselves. Just like healthcare for everyone (except themselves).

[pcity]

Originally Posted by jayh

The biggest problem I have with the car tax is the fact that our lovely politicians have exempted members of Congress, diplomats, etc., etc. To me, this is just another prime example of how our politicans love taxes because they never intend to pay them themselves. Just like healthcare for everyone (except themselves).

What are you talking about? Car tax is a state tax, which means all state residents who own cars pay it. Anyone who holds state office is a state resident and would not be exempt from the tax.

[vermonter16]

I don't like taxes any more than anyone else but we have a very transient area with a lot of military who come in and out. From what I understand they don't have the same tax burden because they can keep things registered in their home state? Correct me if I'm wrong. I think that makes it easier for a lot of them since some of them may move around often.

I guess what I'm saying is that we have a lot of folks who don't pay the same taxes (and legally so)...but the state still needs the income because of all the services - keeping roads up, snow removal, a kazillion other things. If everyone decided to 'get around' paying taxes who really should be paying taxes than those of us who are just trying to be good, honest citizens get stuck paying even more. What makes anyone decide that just because they don't like something - they shouldn't have to pay but everyone else should?

Rather - step it up, start lobbying, organize something to change things or find another way. But - trying to get out of paying something you rightfully will owe - doesn't do anybody any good, that is unless you're only thinking of yourself.

If you can afford to buy a car where you will have to pay $2500 worth of taxes on it....ummm, then I think you can afford it. Even between the two motorcycles, trailer, and two vehicles that my husband have - we still pay less than a grand on all of them...probably less than $800. What kind of car are you purchasing that you will be paying $2500 worth of taxes on?

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by DC Oldtimer

I'm not a lawyer but believe you are required to register your car with the state of Virginia within 30 days of moving here. IOW it's not legal to live here with your car registered in another state, unless an exception applies (such as being in the military). You have to decide if you want to screw with the law.

Actually, you're required to pay the car tax if you keep your car here most of the time, regardless of where it's registered or insured. If they keep seeing you leave whereever you live with it, you will get busted. That happened to a guy I know who also tried pulling the Florida stunt. Just be thankful it's just on cars and boats. Back in the day they taxed all kinds of personal property including furniture. Your "but I already paid for it" argument doesn't really hold much water as homeowners pay property tax every year, even in Florida.