[jangopeter]

Hello,
I bought a car in June 2007 in Bridgeport, CT and moved to another state in Midwest in August 2007. My car was registered in CT from June 2007 to June 2009 but I was insured in the Midwest state from September 2007 to present. Since my move to the Midwest state in August 2007, I registered my car in the Midwest state in June 2009.

Yesterday, I received a collection agency notice of past due motor vehicle taxes for city of Bridgeport from 2006, 2007 and 2008.

I have no clue what that means, since I am a foreigner and I arrived in U.S in January 2007. My questions are:

A. How can they charge me for motor vehicle tax for 2006 when I bought the car in June 2007?
B. Does anyone think this Motor Vehicle Tax is unjust because I did not live in CT/Bridgeport after August 2007?
C. Does anyone think these charges can be waived or can be fought back as a dispute? If yes, How?

Thank you very much for reading.

[MrGompers]

If your car was registered in Conn even though you lived in another state i.e. you did not cancel your Conn license plates. You will not be able to avoid the tax. This is how the towns\cities keep track of peoples cars for tax purposes. Ever wonder why so many cars in Conn have Florida plates? This is why. No Conn license plates - no car taxes to pay.

Not sure about the 2006 tax bill, but most likely it's just the way the town presents the grand list. The grand list usually starts in October so that 2006 bill is really for October 2006 - Sept 2007.

P.S. it may make for sense if you think of the car tax as a license plate tax. Instead of paying the tax to the state you pay it to the town\city you live in. Also, if you filed a Conn income tax for any off those years you are allowed a tax credit for that. You would have to pay the delinquent tax first though in order to get the tax credit.

[NewEnglandGal458]

I have worked for the Assessor and Tax Collector here in Connecticut for many years. For the state of Connecticut your tax bills are in the rears and not the actual year that we are in. For example, here we are in the year of 2010 but our tax bill will read 2009. This is confusing for taxpayers.

Unfortunately when you moved to Texas you failed to register your car in Texas and kept the registration in CT. Doesn’t matter if you insured the car in Texas. You need to prove to the Tax Collector in Bridgeport that you moved to Texas August 2007. Have your insurance company write a letter stating when you insured this vehicle in Texas and if you can also prove when you took residency in Texas. The bill can be pro-rated to the time you lived in Connecticut.

Call the Bridgeport Tax Collector.

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by NewEnglandGal458

For the state of Connecticut your tax bills are in the rears

ROFL! I think you meant "arrears".

[NewEnglandGal458]

indeed I did. Thanks for the correction.