Ray Gibbons writes (regarding taxes on autos in the U.S. and the U.K.):
>
>There may be a signficant difference. When I lived in Missouri, the
>personal property tax on a vehicle was based on its estimated value. They
>used blue book values, and you could argue with them (often successfully)
>if the valuation was not reasonable for your particular car. I can't
>remember them ever arguing if I put down an estimated value of $50 or $100
>for a 10 year old car, which made the tax negligible. It also was
>feasible to avoid the issue by not declaring unregistered cars on the
>personal property tax. Then, the only way they enforced the pp tax on
>cars was to require a current pp tax receipt for registration, which was
>not an issue if you did not register the car. Of course, the computer
>revolution and the fact that old cars have been titled for ages in MO may
>have made declaration on the pp tax difficult to avoid.
>
>The proposal in England, as I understand it, is a flat tax. One argument
>I have seen is that many road users somehow avoid road tax, and to make up
>the income it makes sense (to somebody) to tax cars that don't use the
>road. Those opposed to the idea argue it will send many desirable old
>cars to the crusher. Of course, it might inspire some of those people who
>have a dozen cars rotting in a field (which they intend to restore "some
>day") to sell them to people who would save them. I do wonder how they
>plan to enforce the tax.
>
This is only a guess but I imagine one significant difference is that in the
U.K. there isn't the same distinction between simply owning the car and also
plating it. I mean: the auto recieves a registration number (plate) when it
is new and keeps that specific plate for the duration of its existance
(regardless of change in ownership or physical location). In that way, the
"state" (?) knows about the existence of the car and who owns it regardless
of whether or not it is being driven. In the U.S you can title a car but
not plate it. I've done that three times on restoration projects and parts
cars. I own the thing, its in the garage, and I have no plates or insurance
on it. At present, I don't imagine the individual states are paying any
attention to their files of auto titles, only to their files of registered
and plated cars. In that sense, such cars don't exist, as far as tax roles
are concerned. I don't believe the same situation obtains in the U.K.
Can one of our U.K. SOLers elaborate?
Will "I know nothing about everything" Zehring
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