And the rising values of the kinds of classic BMWs I buy have not gone undocumented. Because of the number of cars I go through and my tendency to buy them beat up and with very high mileage, I have probably overpaid these taxes more than any twenty combined families. Several years ago, I bought a '73 BMW 2002 for about two grand. It barely ran, had dents in every body panel, a rust hole in the nose big enough to stick my hand through, and was missing most of its interior, but I was assessed taxes on its then book value of $8,000 (for old cars, they use the low retail value in the NADA Classic Car Guide). If you complain about it at the Registry, they'll hand you an abatement form. It was so ridiculous that I followed the process of application for abatement all the way down the rabbit hole. I wasn't surprised that the abatement request came back denied. What surprised me was the reason. And they don't tell you the reason in English; they list a code you have to look up in a table. When you find it, essentially what it says is that the abatement form is for many kinds of taxes, and they don't grant abatement for this kind of tax (motor vehicle sales tax). Well then why the hell do you have the registry hand out these forms? Grrrrrrrrr......
But there is one loophole. If you buy a car from a dealer as opposed to a private party, then and only then does the Registry use the value you actually paid, the rationale being that the dealer has to record each sale so it's verifiable, unlike your word, which is, of course, worth nothing to them. But buying from a dealership simply to get this benefit is like intentionally being homeless in order to get the great free health care, only in reverse. I of course wander willingly into used car dealerships the same way I walk willingly bare-breasted through batches of poison ivy, roll willingly in stagnant mosquito-infested water, etc.
Until today. I needed a truck for vacation and I saw, on Craigslist in southern New Hampshire, a high-mileage 2000 Chevy Suburban with 8-passenger seating, working 4wd, and working air conditioning, for $2995 -- substantially below market value. It was at a small used car dealer, but they had excellent BBB accreditation and I liked the honest way the seller presented the vehicle in the ad and on the phone. I dropped everything and drove up to Hampstead, checked out the truck, and bought it on the spot.
AND -- I thought -- FINALLY, because it's bought from a dealership, I'll actually pay the sales tax on the three grand I paid, not on some fictitious book value.
I went to my insurance agent, who did the transaction with the registry via computer (as opposed to physically going to the registry) because I was transferring plates from another vehicle. I reminded her that the car was bought from a dealership. She said she'd see what the registry said.
When she handed me the paperwork, I was assessed $300 tax on a $2995 purchase. "That's not right," I said. "I bought this truck from a dealer."
My insurance agent explained that she asked the Registry, but their policy is that unless the dealer is A MASSACHUSETTS DEALER, you're still assessed tax on the book value.
10% motor vehicle sales tax.
10% motor vehicle sales tax.
Nothing pithy here. No Dave Barry-esque ending that wraps back to the beginning. Just simply very pissed off.
I really miss getting victimized by the commonwealth. I had a similar experience (~'91) when I MOVED to MA from NH, owning a volvo I purchased from a MA dealer, while living in NH, and less than 1 year from the time I moved to MA. After waiting in a 1 hour line to get to the desk to register the car (this was during the state cut-backs and RMV conslidations), the woman stated I had to pay sales tax on the car because I bought it IN MA, never paid sales tax and it was within 1 year of purchase. I told her the car was delivered to me in NH, which meant I did not have to pay MA tax. She told me the dealer would have completed the proper state form stating this at purchase. I went back to work, called the dealer & they said there was no such form. They gave me a letter stating they delivered the car to me in NH and no sales tax was due.
ReplyDeleteWent back to the RMV, handed the letter to the woman & she said she would not accept the letter only the proper state form. I said "I'll have them complete the proper form if you give me the form right now, and if you can't produce the form I see no reason for this to continue." She rolled her eyes & processed the registration without charging me sales tax.
geezzz!
We just had our first experience with this lovely Massachusetts law. It's total bullshit. We went out of our way to try and find a truck that was within our price range, and when we finally found one in NH (we paid $1800 for it, which was a deal!), the RMV assessed that it was worth $6000 and that we had to pay the taxes on that instead. Well color me pissed off at the RMV! I looked at the clerk, told him I knew that he didn't make the rules, but "this is the state's way of raping my wallet". I hate this state sometimes, I swear, Taxachusetts indeed!!!
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