vehicle taxes

[NateS]

can anybody explain why i have to pay taxes for my vehicle every year? If i bought it, i paid a sales tax on it. Why do i have to pay every year after that?

I don't have to pay taxes on my bed, or my phone, or my skateboard, or my tv, or my xbox, or my laptop. why do i have to pay taxes for my car, that is owned by me?

[elgecko]

Same reason you have to pay property taxes on a house you own (to pay for infrastructure, etc).

[TJ55]

It's your birthday card from the state telling you what your vehicle is worth. They just overcharge for the appraisal.

[GregC]

Originally Posted by elgecko

Same reason you have to pay property taxes on a house you own (to pay for infrastructure, etc).

This. Roads cost money.

[Bassamatic]

This is what is called a "privilege tax". You pay for the privilege of driving on their roads.

Personally, I feel that everything should be paid for by fuel taxes - - the bigger the vehicle and the more you drive, the more you pay.

This system should also be used to pay for no-fault insurance for everyone on the road automatically.

[Smokin' Toaster]

Originally Posted by Gio S

This is what is called a "privilege tax". You pay for the privilege of driving on their roads.

Personally, I feel that everything should be paid for by fuel taxes - - the bigger the vehicle and the more you drive, the more you pay.

This system should also be used to pay for no-fault insurance for everyone on the road automatically.

Those bad 'ol humans in their big, gas guzzling SUV's. Next thing you know they'll be wanting to eat Tex-Mex and fart greenhouse gasses. Better round 'em all up and kill them and use their bodies as fertilizer to make the earth greener. Then the earth will be happy.

[Pilgrim]

You have to pay taxes because they pay for roads!

...you drive on roads which must be maintained
...you drive on new roads which have just been built
...you drive over bridges which must be maintained and replaced
...there are traffic systems which run lights and help you get where you're going (and which must be maintained and operated)

And you pay sales taxes on your bed, skatebord, TV, etc when you buy it..but those are perishable items, and you will pay more sales taxes when you replace them. Roads are not perishable, so you pay annually.

I don't know why people have such a blind spot about taxes. They pay for things which are used by all of us. The discussion should center around how many taxes are appropriate and for what, but not a blind reaction that all taxes are 'bad". They are necessary to pay for things and services we all use.

[Quickie]

Originally Posted by NateS

can anybody explain why i have to pay taxes for my vehicle every year? If i bought it, i paid a sales tax on it. Why do i have to pay every year after that?

I don't have to pay taxes on my bed, or my phone, or my skateboard, or my tv, or my xbox, or my laptop. why do i have to pay taxes for my car, that is owned by me?

Taxes? I don't understand. Do you mean registration?

Registration Related Fees



Fees go to:

Cities and Counties
California Highway Patrol
Department of Motor Vehicles
State Highways
Various State Agencies
State's General Fund

[NateS]

Originally Posted by Quickie

Taxes? I don't understand. Do you mean registration?

Registration Related Fees



Fees go to:

Cities and Counties
California Highway Patrol
Department of Motor Vehicles
State Highways
Various State Agencies
State's General Fund

my "personal property tax" came in the mail today. fun times. 37 bucks to continue owning my '94 ford explorer.

[Quickie]

Originally Posted by NateS

my "personal property tax" came in the mail today. fun times. 37 bucks to continue owning my '94 ford explorer.

Personal property tax? Hmmmm. I pay income tax....and registration is a separate fee. I guess your tax laws are different. Sorry bout that. But look at it this way, the majority of people in the world don't have a vehicle.

[warnergt]

Some states only charge a nominal registration fee every year
(like here in Pennsylvania) while other states charge a yearly
tax based on the value of the car.

Personally, I think the tax is a ripoff. Expensive cars don't wear
out the roads any faster than inexpensive cars.

[Jim Nazium]

Originally Posted by NateS

I don't have to pay taxes on my bed, or my phone, or my skateboard, or my tv, or my xbox, or my laptop.

Not yet ...

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by warnergt

Personally, I think the tax is a ripoff. Expensive cars don't wear out the roads any faster than inexpensive cars.

The state of Washington is considering adjusting the vehicle registration fees to be based on yearly use, for example by miles driven. Lots of unanswered questions as to how to monitor, report mileage, etc, so it may never come to fruition.

-Mike

[ehque]

"I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet".

A more serious answer, though, maintenance.

To put things into perspective, car purchase tax here is 157% (that's right, more tax than actual price of the car) of the market value of the car, and that doesn't count a whole other bunch of one-time and yearly taxes (registration, road tax, etc).

[Southpaw5]

Originally Posted by GregC

This. Roads cost money.

Then Why doesn't he pay taxes on his bicycle? One My major gripes with cyclists, free use of the roads motorist have to pay for

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

The state of Washington is considering adjusting the vehicle registration fees to be based on yearly use, for example by miles driven. Lots of unanswered questions as to how to monitor, report mileage, etc, so it may never come to fruition.

-Mike

I understand that WA (my home state) passed a major tax reduction on vehicle licenses...and then found out that the state could no longer repair its roads because it had done away with the revenue source.

Ya gotta generate the revenue to keep the roads open, friends.

[Febs]

Originally Posted by Southpaw5

Then Why doesn't he pay taxes on his bicycle? One My major gripes with cyclists, free use of the roads motorist have to pay for

Would you also require people who walk on the roads to pay taxes for their use?

Bicycles cause almost no wear to the roadways compared to multi-ton vehicles like cars and trucks.

Moreover, a signficant portion of the funding of roadways comes from revenue sources other than vehicle or fuel taxes, so to say that cyclists use the roads for "free" is not factually accurate. As a cyclist, I also drive a car, so I pay my fair share of fuel taxes, but to the extent that money from my federal and state income taxes, property taxes, state sales tax, etc. are used to fund roadway construction and maintenance, I am paying my share of them as well, regardless of whether I drive a car or not.

[seanm]

Originally Posted by Southpaw5

Then Why doesn't he pay taxes on his bicycle? One My major gripes with cyclists, free use of the roads motorist have to pay for

Because governments are trying to get people out of cars and into bicycles. So bicycles get a tax advantage as an incentive.

But practically, how do you tax 10 year olds (for example)? And the percentage of adults people who have a bicycle but don't own a car is basically zero.

When everybody rides bikes, then they will start taxing bicycles

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

I understand that WA (my home state) passed a major tax reduction on vehicle licenses...and then found out that the state could no longer repair its roads because it had done away with the revenue source.

Ya gotta generate the revenue to keep the roads open, friends.

Yep, Tim Eyman and his $30 car tabs. Everyone lauded him as a hero and awesome guy for saving the citizens of Washington from the evil car tab fees. Now look what he did.

-Mike

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

IMHO, registration fees should be based on vehicle weight.