[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

That's a very distorted representation of the Massachusetts automobile excise tax.

Year 1 is 90% of sticker price at 2.5%
Year 2 is 60% of sticker price at 2.5%
Year 3 is 40% of sticker price at 2.5%
Year 4 is 25% of sticker price at 2.5%
Year 5 and beyond is 10% of sticker price at 2.5%

Your $25K Honda Civic pays $562.50 in year one, $375 year two, $250 year three, $156.25 year four, and $62.50 beyond that.

In Massachusetts, the first year is expensive. It quickly drops after that. That's nothing like the Connecticut nonsense where you pay the full tax on the nominal book value of the car forever.

This is all mandated by the Proposition 2 1/2 referendum passed many decades ago. Unlike Connecticut, Massachusetts has a ballot initiative mechanism to stop the state from taxing everything to death. The state has had no choice but to exercise fiscal restraint for many decades. The flat personal income tax gives everyone an equal stake in the system. Blue collar voters oppose state income tax hikes at least as much as white collar professionals.

Exactly this. The formula JayCT shared is not accurate.

[BPt111]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

That's a very distorted representation of the Massachusetts automobile excise tax.

Year 1 is 90% of sticker price at 2.5%
Year 2 is 60% of sticker price at 2.5%
Year 3 is 40% of sticker price at 2.5%
Year 4 is 25% of sticker price at 2.5%
Year 5 and beyond is 10% of sticker price at 2.5%

Your $25K Honda Civic pays $562.50 in year one, $375 year two, $250 year three, $156.25 year four, and $62.50 beyond that.

In Massachusetts, the first year is expensive. It quickly drops after that. That's nothing like the Connecticut nonsense where you pay the full tax on the nominal book value of the car forever.

This is all mandated by the Proposition 2 1/2 referendum passed many decades ago. Unlike Connecticut, Massachusetts has a ballot initiative mechanism to stop the state from taxing everything to death. The state has had no choice but to exercise fiscal restraint for many decades. The flat personal income tax gives everyone an equal stake in the system. Blue collar voters oppose state income tax hikes at least as much as white collar professionals.

Why Connecticut can’t be same as Massachusetts

[East of the River]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Exactly this. The formula JayCT shared is not accurate.

I think the basic answer is even if CT doesn't have the highest taxes/fees on cars we are likely in the top 5 and a reduction would be a good idea.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

That's a very distorted representation of the Massachusetts automobile excise tax.

Year 1 is 90% of sticker price at 2.5%
Year 2 is 60% of sticker price at 2.5%
Year 3 is 40% of sticker price at 2.5%
Year 4 is 25% of sticker price at 2.5%
Year 5 and beyond is 10% of sticker price at 2.5%

Your $25K Honda Civic pays $562.50 in year one, $375 year two, $250 year three, $156.25 year four, and $62.50 beyond that.

In Massachusetts, the first year is expensive. It quickly drops after that. That's nothing like the Connecticut nonsense where you pay the full tax on the nominal book value of the car forever.

This is all mandated by the Proposition 2 1/2 referendum passed many decades ago. Unlike Connecticut, Massachusetts has a ballot initiative mechanism to stop the state from taxing everything to death. The state has had no choice but to exercise fiscal restraint for many decades. The flat personal income tax gives everyone an equal stake in the system. Blue collar voters oppose state income tax hikes at least as much as white collar professionals.

How am I distorting anything? The OP I was responding to was ONLY talking about taxes on a brand new car, not what you pay 5 years down the road. The calculation I made was correct. The first year the buyer would pay more in Massachusetts than they would in Connecticut. The tax goes down in Massachusetts after year one but it also goes down in Connecticut too since the car depreciates in value every year. Again I stand by my calculation and statement. Jay

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by JayCT

How am I distorting anything? The OP I was responding to was ONLY talking about taxes on a brand new car, not what you pay 5 years down the road. The calculation I made was correct. The first year the buyer would pay more in Massachusetts than they would in Connecticut. The tax goes down in Massachusetts after year one but it also goes down in Connecticut too since the car depreciates in value every year. Again I stand by my calculation and statement. Jay

Let's pick West Hartford. Here's their web site talking about automobile taxes:
https://www.westhartfordct.gov/gov/d...ce/default.asp

I see:

37.00 mills for motor vehicles (pertained to bills due July 1, 2016 and January 1, 2017)

I also see:

As you may know, the Town of West Hartford delayed mailing the motor vehicle bills due to the uncertainty concerning possible legislation which could result in a change to the uniform state-wide motor vehicle mill rate. Unfortunately, the State budget is still uncertain and the Town can no longer postpone the issuance of motor vehicle tax bills.
Tax bills will be mailed on October 6th and the due date is November 1st, 2017. The last day to pay without penalty is Friday December 1st. The bill is based on the current State legislation of 32 mills. Should this change when the final State budget is adopted, it may be necessary to adjust your tax levy and issue a supplemental tax bill at a later date.

I had lots of university level math courses. I'm pretty sure that a $37 mill rate for 2017 is higher than a $25 mill rate. I'm not familiar with the auto part of the Connecticut "property tax relief" law. Even if it's 70% of $37 instead of straight blue book, that's still $25.90. In my universe, $25.90 > $25.00.

Nobody knows what the 2018 car tax will be but it's unlikely to remain at $32. Everybody in West Hartford is going to be nailed with another supplemental tax bill.

[MrGompers]

One change I would like to see with the car tax is an exemption for cars 10 years old or older. If not an exemption perhaps a max tax like $25 per year.

I am still paying $100 a year on a 12 year old car and $100 a year on a 10 year old motorcycle. Now $200 in tax won't bankrupt me, but I think some of our lower income residents in high mill rate cities would benefit from an exemption. It would also reduce paperwork, mailing costs, and admin costs to some extent for each town/city.

It could also reduce some of the admin costs at the DMV since that department is responsible for telling the towns/cities who has registered cars so they can assess the property tax.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Let's pick West Hartford. Here's their web site talking about automobile taxes:
https://www.westhartfordct.gov/gov/d...ce/default.asp

I see:


I also see:



I had lots of university level math courses. I'm pretty sure that a $37 mill rate for 2017 is higher than a $25 mill rate. I'm not familiar with the auto part of the Connecticut "property tax relief" law. Even if it's 70% of $37 instead of straight blue book, that's still $25.90. In my universe, $25.90 > $25.00.

Nobody knows what the 2018 car tax will be but it's unlikely to remain at $32. Everybody in West Hartford is going to be nailed with another supplemental tax bill.

You are picking a town with the highest allowable mill rate for motor vehicles. Only 25 of the 169 towns in the state are that high. The remaining 144 are lower, many are significantly lower.

Neighboring Farmington's mill rate is 25.78 so the tax on that $25,000 car would be $451.15. Greenwich has a mill rate of 11.202 so the tax would be just $196.04. It all depends on which town you live in. Jay

[Robert137]

The state Senate has passed the proposed bipartisan budget by the veto-proof vote of 33-3, it goes to the House today. It includes no major general tax increases but several small ones. A couple of surprises:

---the estate tax exemption will be increased to the Federal level by 2020.

---Social Security income will be exempt from tax for individuals with income under $75,000 (was $50,000) and couples under $100,000 (was $60,000). Above those thresholds, 25% of Social Security income will be taxed, as it is now.

---Income tax on pensions and annuities is being phased out (over 7 years-by 2025)!! This would apply to those under the income thresholds above for Social Security ($75,000/$100,000). Above that, you're still out of luck. This surprised me, I was following the tax debate but this came out of nowhere.

It's interesting how the legislature was able to address some of these "competitive" issues in light of the fiscal mess we're in, trying to keep affluent retirees here. Of course, there's still plenty of time to repeal them.

The above are based on my quick reading of the huge law, so take with a grain of salt. I haven't seen an authoritative summary yet online.

After 117-day marathon, Senate passes bipartisan budget | HartfordBusiness.com

[JayCT]

This morning the Connecticut House also approved the Bipartisan Budget and with a veto-proof majority. This all happened very fast. I do not believe there has been any independent review of it. I just hope they all know what they were voting on. Now we will see what Malloy has to say. We are not out of the woods quite yet on this. Jay

House Approves Bipartisan Budget With Veto-Proof Majority - Hartford Courant

[ads94]

Originally Posted by JayCT

This morning the Connecticut House also approved the Bipartisan Budget and with a veto-proof majority. This all happened very fast. I do not believe there has been any independent review of it. I just hope they all know what they were voting on. Now we will see what Malloy has to say. We are not out of the woods quite yet on this. Jay

House Approves Bipartisan Budget With Veto-Proof Majority - Hartford Courant

If Malloy vetoes it, they will just override it. The budget impasse seems to be over. It's very unlikely that this one will fail.