Welcome to California

[Coralsnake]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uRXl04uX8tw&pp=ugUHEgVlbi1VU9IHCQnFCgGHKiGM7w%3D%3D

[trotrof1]

That money could be best used for Gavin's hair gel and Nancy's gourmet ice cream addiction. Possible $10 gas this summer.

[JD]

It was only a matter of time until they started chasing cars with those plates, "low hanging fruit" they can make examples of the owners.

[pbf777]

    For comparison, if taking up "temporary" residency in the state of Florida your "suppose" to have your vehicle "registered" (& "tagged") after just "10-days"; though there is also the language of if moving to Florida taking up "permanent" residency it seems to become the "30-day" rule.

    And as stated: "The Florida DMV "requires" that a vehicle have a Florida title in order to register it with Florida plates." Exception is if there might be a lien holder outside the state holding the original title. 

    So is what we're arguing about here as being attempted to be enforced not so different as may be being practiced elsewhere?  Perhaps it's just the idea of "enforcement" that's not appreciated, as the legislation has been on the books for decades.  And in Florida, as being of such a transient population (probably not so unlike CA), its' enforcement isn't well promoted, but the regulations do exist.

    And in all honesty, isn't this "Montana-Shuffle" as being practiced only as a tax avoidance effort, this knowingly by the very people residing in the state of California, and hence guilty as charged?   

    If you don't like it and don't want to pay-up, go down an vote the sorry a$$es out of office, or move out of the state!  But you just might want to check and see what the "potential" practices of the next state might look like!   

    Scott. 

[98SVT - was 06GT]

CA has had the Russia like "turn in your neighbor" rule since the 60s. In the 80s registering your expensive motorhome to an out of state corporation was the method. One Cobra owner had a car dealership (on paper) in OK and used those plates on multiple cars. CA also has the 10 day rule if you move here.
Boats are also a target. You see a lot of AZ registered boats on CA tagged trailers. CA has an annual tax on car/boat value. If you store your boat in AZ no tax. Also if it was used when you bought it there is no used tax in AZ - saves you 10% on the sale. If you buy a car out of state and pay the tax there CA will hit you for the difference. Paid 6% out of state? CA will hit you for another 4%.
CA has a fee in the license for car value. That 1.8 mil McLaren has nearly $1,000 added to it's registration - MONTHLY.
BTW - March is the month that CA is switching to their "summer blend" that has to be sold by April 1 adding about 20 cents a gallon. The April Fools date is fitting. The summer blend is no cleaner or healthier. All it does is change the emission chemistry so it doesn't turn brown when exposed to the sun and create the photochemical smog that LA is famous for. Of course this blend is mandated all over the state even though LA is the only place that has the natural inversion area that keeps the emissions trapped close to the ground. A fact the Indians knew when they told the Spanish missionaries the LA Basin was called Valley of the Smoke.
There is a reason CA is losing population.

[2008 GT-C]

When I bought my Shelby at a CA dealership I had to fill out paperwork stating that the car was leaving the state of CA. They did not want me to avoid paying the sales tax. It's ok CT got me when I registered it there and still paying property tax on it. CT had a summer/winter blend if gas not sure if they still do that. Kind of a joke it will still mellow if it sits too long.

[98SVT - was 06GT]

I had to fill out paperwork stating that the car was leaving the state of CA. They did not want me to avoid paying the sales tax.

Today the rule is if the tires touch a CA street you need to pay the sales tax. The only way to avoid it is to ship it out of the state and they'll want the shipping doc.

[tesgt350]

I think I already know the answer to this BUT, If 365 People were to buy a One Day Time Share on a House in Florida, could they Register their Vehicle/Boat/Motorhome using that Address of the Time Share?

[98SVT - was 06GT]

I think I already know the answer to this BUT, If 365 People were to buy a One Day Time Share on a House in Florida, could they Register their Vehicle/Boat/Motorhome using that Address of the Time Share?

Yes but you run into trouble in that it's not your permanent address. I think most states have a % of time in each location. Also where you vote and what state your DL is from. I used a friends address in NV for years when I had cars that would not pass CA smog. If I got stopped I'd explain that the car was usually in my hanger in NV but I'd brought it here to do some maint then taking it back. Always worked - but it wasn't a million dollar asset I was trying to evade taxes on. I'm tempted to buy a cheap "vacation place" where I say I live 51% of the time in OK and have the wife use her tribal citizenship to register the cars for less than $30 each.

[67 GT350]

I think you have to actually be at any giving place for 6 months to claim it as residency

[owenkelley]

I live in Missoula Montana and we have several warehouses around town that are filled with high end cars, I've been through a couple of these warehouses myself. I've seen Cobras, a Ferrari prototype, a Tucker and countless other very cool cars. My understanding is that these owners ship their cars to Montana, register them there and store them there for a year. Once they have been registered for a year they transfer the ownership from their Montana LLC address, which is typically a PO Box, to their address in their home state under the pretense that they are moving it from their "property" in Montana to their home address. This way the car is not running around with a Montana license plate in their hometown. You don't have access to your car while it's being stored in Montana unless you come to visit it, but I know this is how some people are getting around it.

I've been to several car shows in other states and seen cars that have never seen a street in Montana with Montana plates, including several SAAC meets. I have pictures of the Cannonball Run Cobra with Montana plates. I'm pretty sure that car has never seen a Montana road.

I've never liked this program, to me it's the State of Montana aiding and abetting tax evasion in other states, but it's been going on for years. Some people in Montana have made a very nice living over the years in this business. To me a simple solution would be for other states to change their registration rules. Have the percentage reduced as the sale price of the car escalates. Make it be too much hassle to register your cars out of state for the tax savings.

One thing they mention in the video which I don't understand is they say that the cars are registered for five years. Not sure what they are referring to as I have never seen cars registered for more than one year unless it is over ten years old, then you can register them permanently for what amounts to about three years of taxes. Most of my cars are permanently registered.