Vehicle registration - Excise tax (sales, low crime, house)

[LloydinMaine]

I was just looking at the Maine.gov site about excise tax on vehicles. I am bit shocked at what it will cost my wife and I to register our vehicles in Maine. Currently, we pay $35 a year for registration. According to the website the excise tax on a vehicle less than one year old is the mil rate of .0240 multiplied by the MSRP of the vehicle. Say the MSRP is $60k. That means we have to shell out $1440 for one of our vehicles?

If you purchase a new vehicle in Maine, you have to pay sales tax plus this excise tax. Doesn't this hurt new car sales in Maine? I would think this would discourage many people from purchasing a new vehicle.

I am half tempted to sell our vehicles before we move and just purchase a couple of 6 year old vehicles. It seems that after the vehicle hits 6 years of age it is taxed at the lowest mil rate.

Am I missing something or is this just part of the cost of living in Maine?

[AustinB]

Yet they still sell high end cars and trucks in Maine. Go figure.

[mainegrl2011]

Originally Posted by LloydinMaine

I was just looking at the Maine.gov site about excise tax on vehicles. I am bit shocked at what it will cost my wife and I to register our vehicles in Maine. Currently, we pay $35 a year for registration. According to the website the excise tax on a vehicle less than one year old is the mil rate of .0240 multiplied by the MSRP of the vehicle. Say the MSRP is $60k. That means we have to shell out $1440 for one of our vehicles?

If you purchase a new vehicle in Maine, you have to pay sales tax plus this excise tax. Doesn't this hurt new car sales in Maine? I would think this would discourage many people from purchasing a new vehicle.

I am half tempted to sell our vehicles before we move and just purchase a couple of 6 year old vehicles. It seems that after the vehicle hits 6 years of age it is taxed at the lowest mil rate.

Am I missing something or is this just part of the cost of living in Maine?

Just part of the cost of living in Maine for those who register vehicles. And, yes, you will also pay sales tax when you purchase a vehicle. Have you noticed on this forum many comments about what a low cost of living Maine has compared to other places? It seems inevitable that we are going to be taxed one way or another regardless. Each state has their own ways of taxing people. Some states charge a personal property tax on vehicles which is similar to an excise tax....the excise tax has been a fact of life for a long time for those who register vehicles. There is still a $35 registration fee and more if you order certain special cause license plates or vanity plates. I find it extremely amusing that you can afford a $60K vehicle and are whining about excise tax.

IMO There are better things to do with money than pay $60K for a vehicle especially if you plan to drive it in Maine's winter months....might want to get yourself a beatah for the wintah

[bangorme]

How long ago did you buy the cars? You MIGHT end up paying Maine sales taxes on them! I can tell you a couple horror stories about that.

[LloydinMaine]

Originally Posted by mainegrl2011

Just part of the cost of living in Maine for those who register vehicles. Have you noticed on this forum many comments about what a low cost of living Maine has compared to other places? Some states charge a personal property tax on vehicles which is similar to an excise tax....the excise tax has been a fact of life for those who register vehicles for a long time. There is still a $35 registration fee and more if you order certain special cause license plates or vanity plates. I find it extremely amusing that you can afford a $60K vehicle and are whining about excise tax.

IMO There are better things to do with money than pay $60K for a vehicle especially if you plan to drive it in Maine's winter months....might want to get yourself a beatah for the wintah

I have to disagree. I don't find Maine to have a low cost of living. Maybe compared to other areas in the Northeast like NY, NJ and CT, but certainly not compared to some other areas of the country. The annual excise tax on vehicles is one example. Two vehicles that I will pay excise tax on over a 5 year period will be pushing $9k. Your housing costs are not that cheap. To purchase a comparable home that I live in now will cost me $100k more along with property taxes that are going to be $4k-$5k more a year. Your heating costs are through the roof. Just the heating costs in the winter are going to be more than what I spend for all of my utilities for the entire year. Some states do not collect state income tax. This is a huge chunk of money. Now once you start adding up all of the additional costs in Maine, I don't really find the cost of living to be all that low. It is what it is and I will just have to deal with it.

Yes, some states charge personal property tax on vehicles. Use South Carolina as one of those states. They charge personal property tax, but you only pay $300 flat tax on the purchase of the vehicle. They don't hit you with a 5%, 6%, or 7% sales tax in addition their property tax.

I find nothing amusing about it at all. Who wants to just hand over their hard earned money? All this does is makes someone register their vehicles out of state and not pay Maine their excise tax.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by mainegrl2011

... I find it extremely amusing that you can afford a $60K vehicle and are whining about excise tax.

I think he was saying it was a current year car.

Anyone who can afford to drop $60k every year on a car, can pay the darn tax.



Families raising children gross 1/3 that much here, and I must assume that your gross earnings are far more than $60k. Who spends 100% of their annual earnings on a car? So obviously this comes from a fairly wealthy individual. Pay the tax.

The idea behind any progressive tax system is that the extremely wealthy do pay higher taxes. Pay the tax.

Whining about how extremely wealthy you are, is bad form.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by LloydinMaine

... To purchase a comparably home that I live in now will cost me $100k more along with property taxes that are going to be $4k-$5k more a year.

I can [and did] buy over a hundred acres, river frontage and with a fairly large house for less than $100k. Property taxes can [and are] far less than $1k.

... Your heating costs are through the roof.

I know. This past winter was horrible. We sucked through 4 cords. That cost us nearly $900. Winters are terrible. Better for folks to stay away.

... Some states do not collect state income tax

True. I am fortunate, as a retiree, I am not so wealthy as to be paying income taxes. But obviously the richer you are, then you begin to pay them.

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by Submariner

... Whining about how extremely wealthy you are, is bad form.

Envy is even worse. What do they say about that green eyed monster lol.

Back to the topic, this is the liberal northeast, and people here believe your money is their money. So, as has been documented many times, Maine has high taxes. There is much to draw one to Maine, but paying low taxes isn't on the list. If a low cost of living is your main priority, Maine isn't the place for you. But, if you want low crime, natural beauty, people that mind their own business, and lots of space... welcome to Maine.

[LloydinMaine]

Originally Posted by Submariner

I think he was saying it was a current year car.

Anyone who can afford to drop $60k every year on a car, can pay the darn tax.



Families raising children gross 1/3 that much here, and I must assume that your gross earnings are far more than $60k. Who spends 100% of their annual earnings on a car? So obviously this comes from a fairly wealthy individual. Pay the tax.

The idea behind any progressive tax system is that the extremely wealthy do pay higher taxes. Pay the tax.

Whining about how extremely wealthy you are, is bad form.

I'm not in anyway whining about how extremely wealthy I am. I wish that was the case. I just don't like handing over anymore of my money than I have to.

Have you priced new vehicles lately? Unfortunately $60k is what my work truck stickers for. I'm not going out and purchasing a new BMW, which I would trash the second I hooked up my trailer and tried pulling 15k pounds down the road.

I work for my money. Is that considered bad form?

[LloydinMaine]

Originally Posted by Submariner

I can [and did] buy over a hundred acres, river frontage and with a fairly large house for less than $100k. Property taxes can [and are] far less than $1k.





I know. This past winter was horrible. We sucked through 4 cords. That cost us nearly $900. Winters are terrible. Better for folks to stay away.





True. I am fortunate, as a retiree, I am not so wealthy as to be paying income taxes. But obviously the richer you are, then you begin to pay them.

So you didn't pay income taxes when you were working? Only the wealthy pay this tax?