Excise Tax (Bar Harbor: buy, inspections, property tax)

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

I do not see that.

Having recently moved to Maine we have not experienced any increases in automotive expenses [outside of fuel costs]. We have only seen decreases.

Did you come from one of the two states I mentioned? If not, then it isn't applicable to what your situation was. Those were the only two I was talking about because those are the ones I had recent experience with, none other implied or intended.

If you had come from Michigan or Ohio you would have found that owning the same vehicle is more expensive in Maine than either of those states.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Elcarim

Our State Farm agent gave me a comparison quote for a Maine zip code and it's cheaper for full coverage in Maine than it is here in our case.

I just logged onto and reviewed our Geico policy.

BUICK CENTURYLTD Total Vehicle Premium: $98.30

WILLY UTILITY WA Total Vehicle Premium: $96.10

SAAB 9-3 S Total Vehicle Premium: $120.90

Our premiums dropped when we moved to Maine.

[boonelsewhere]

BUICK CENTURYLTD Total Vehicle Premium: $98.30

WILLY UTILITY WA Total Vehicle Premium: $96.10

SAAB 9-3 S Total Vehicle Premium: $120.90

forest, are those number semi-annualy, or quaterly ." could not be annual"

[Submariner]

Ooops sorry every six months, semi-annually.

[Zymer]

" WHY IS THE TAX BASED ON MSRP?
Excise Tax was designed with equity in mind. In 1925, this tax was enacted as a Maine Law. At that time, the Legislature decided that the fairest tax assessment would be based on what the manufacturer suggests it sell for.
This law remained in effect for over 75 years to ensure that everyone who drives the same vehicle pay the same amount of tax."

Completely unfair. Tax should be based on current value and Gross Registered Weight (heavier vehiclescause more wear to roads and bridges...in general, don't want to get into a peeing contest about # of axles and all that).

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by Zymer

" WHY IS THE TAX BASED ON MSRP?
Excise Tax was designed with equity in mind. In 1925, this tax was enacted as a Maine Law. At that time, the Legislature decided that the fairest tax assessment would be based on what the manufacturer suggests it sell for.
This law remained in effect for over 75 years to ensure that everyone who drives the same vehicle pay the same amount of tax."

Completely unfair. Tax should be based on current value and Gross Registered Weight (heavier vehiclescause more wear to roads and bridges...in general, don't want to get into a peeing contest about # of axles and all that).

They didn't say fairest to who though . Looks like the state was looking out for #1 way back then, as well as now.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Zymer

" WHY IS THE TAX BASED ON MSRP?
Excise Tax was designed with equity in mind. In 1925, this tax was enacted as a Maine Law. At that time, the Legislature decided that the fairest tax assessment would be based on what the manufacturer suggests it sell for.
This law remained in effect for over 75 years to ensure that everyone who drives the same vehicle pay the same amount of tax."

Completely unfair. Tax should be based on current value and Gross Registered Weight (heavier vehiclescause more wear to roads and bridges...in general, don't want to get into a peeing contest about # of axles and all that).

Which is why the Maine.gov website says that it uses the bluebook maybe?

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by Zymer

" WHY IS THE TAX BASED ON MSRP?
Excise Tax was designed with equity in mind. In 1925, this tax was enacted as a Maine Law. At that time, the Legislature decided that the fairest tax assessment would be based on what the manufacturer suggests it sell for.
This law remained in effect for over 75 years to ensure that everyone who drives the same vehicle pay the same amount of tax."

Completely unfair. Tax should be based on current value and Gross Registered Weight (heavier vehiclescause more wear to roads and bridges...in general, don't want to get into a peeing contest about # of axles and all that).

Excise taxes are not "use" taxes. Excise taxes are a form of personal property tax. Thus the MSRP should be used, and depreciated for taxable value, which is the way the excise tax is computed.

Registrations are "use" taxes, and heavier trucks multiple axle trucks pay a higher registration rate than do others. My 1Ton, dually pickup is measurably more expensive than my F150 shorty to register, and that is a function of gross vehicle weight.

Registration fees go to the State of Maine, and Excise taxes remain in the local taxing authority...town, city, etc.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

Which is why the Maine.gov website says that it uses the bluebook maybe?

It only uses the blue book to obtain the MSRP price when NEW. ALL vehicle excise tax's in Maine are biased on the price of the vehicle when it was NEW.

[Aerobars]

Here are a few more websites that explain things well. I've taken some exerpts.

"The tax collector must determine the original sticker value (MSRP) of your vehicle. If it’s a brand new vehicle being registered, you are required by law to supply the tax collector with the Munroney Sticker (window sticker) given to you by the car dealer. This sets the basis for the excise tax collection. On used cars, the Tax Collector will look up the original MSRP in a book here at the town office. There is a sliding scale for the tax applied to the vehicle, starting at 24 mills for a current year vehicle, down to the lowest rate of 4 mills for a vehicle 6 years old and older. The excise tax is retained by the town, and is a major part of the funding for town services. Generally the excise tax is deductible from your federal income tax form, much like the property tax." Auto Registration

"The kicker, however, is that you must pay excise tax on a new car based not on what you paid for the vehicle, but on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, the MSRP. (Used car taxes are based on the Blue Book value.) Everyone knows that the MSRP is a fantasy figure that no dealer expects to receive. It is the starting point for the time-honored tradition of “haggling.” If the MSRP is $30,000, you do your level best to bargain it down to maybe $28,000.
You think you got a deal until you show up at town hall. They don’t want to see the sales slip from your transaction. They demand the sticker off the window. That will establish the basis for your car tax for as long as you register that vehicle. If you put 70,000 miles on that car during the first year, its value has depreciated from $30,000 to perhaps $20,000. But to the town clerk, you’re still tooling around in a $30,000 machine."

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(Bold for emphasis was mine)

The basis for the excise tax is the original sticker price of the vehicle, not the depreciated amount. In the case of vehicles from away it can be difficult for offices to determine what the msrp was, this can lead to errors in valuation, and I assume is what has resulted in the confusion here. The value of your vehicle is not reassessed every year for depreciation, the original msrp is what is used (along with the mil rate) to determine what the excise tax will be.