Auto Registration Fees

Ah, here in NJ, school funding comes from real estate taxes.

If my memory serves me correctly, i recall that our schools are ratedabout 3rd in the country, which prepares our children to go to elite universities, which enables them to get jobs paying a lot of money, and then they can afford to pay NJ taxes.

In Ohio itā€™s $35 for the year. If you own a hybrid, add $100 to that, or $200 if itā€™s a full EV.

NY doesnā€™t tax social security and the first $20,000 of pension income is exempt. The star and senior star programs reduce property taxes/

That is true, but those who are leaving are replaced in even larger numbers by the younger folks who continue to flock to the state. As a result, our population continues to grow, sadly allowing us to maintain our status as the most densely populated state. :face_with_diagonal_mouth:

In addition to allowing us to have one of the best school systems in The US, those taxes also result in having one of the lowest rates of crime in The US, so those of us who can afford to stay do enjoy the benefitsā€“even though the congestion can be daunting at times. Luckily, I live in a semi-rural area, so the congestion isnā€™t an issue for me unless I drive into other parts of the state.

With major corporations continuing to leave the state. Where will the fresh graduates and incoming citizens work?

It is great that NJ ranks 3rd in the nation for education but they do spend twice the amount per pupil ($20K) than Florida ($9.3K), that ranks 14th. My former home state of Ohio spends $13K and ranks 33rd. Not getting what they pay for in Ohio, are they?

Inefficient use of tax dollars creates a continuing request for more, especially for school levies since they are easy to sell to voters. The increased cost of living drives an increase in teacher salaries which drives increased taxes which leads to some jumping off that merry-go-round. Likeā€¦those new residents moving to NJ fromā€¦ higher tax, cost of living and higher crime New York.

The number of rental and condo communities that are continuing to be built in my area of Central NJ (and possibly in other parts of the state) is nothing short of staggering. As soon as a derelict strip mall is demolished, housing for hundreds of people is quickly erected, and is rapidly filled.

As to the supposed exodus of people from NJ, Iā€™ll use a famous saying from Yogi Berra, who was talking about a restaurant: Nobody goes there anymore because itā€™s too crowded. :thinking:

In the end, it doesnā€™t really matter if some segments of the population are leaving when they are replaced by others who are moving in.

1 Like

Due to the ā€œcreativityā€ of local politicians its futile to compare a single tax cost amoung localities.

A few years back a relative was crowing about the huge Property Tax savings from moving to another state. Then they received the unexpected Township, School District, Sanitary District and Trash Collection tax bills.

So if you want decent roads, schools, etc., you can call it Income tax, Excise tax, Sales Tax, Registration Fees or what you will but someoneā€™s got to pay the bills and itā€™s probably us.

3 Likes

Thereā€™s a political-economic theory that goes ā€œif you want less of something, tax itā€. So those state politicos abiding by this theory will say if you tax income, youā€™ll wind up with the citizens of the state making less income. So the solution ā€“ according to this theory ā€“ is if you want everyone having high income, then donā€™t have state income taxes.

Thereā€™s counter-arguments of course ā€¦ lol ā€¦

There is an easy way to compare tax rates state to state. What is your stateā€™s budget per citizen that lives there. If your state provides less services for more money than another, that is a measure of how well spent your tax dollars are spent.

When I was a sophomore in South Dakota and living off campus, I got a notice in the mail to file and pay personal property tax. I asked my room mates what the heck this was since I had never heard of it before. I ignored it since I wasnā€™t a citizen and only partially owned a $500 car, golf clubs, some books and a shot gun. I never got arrested but it was a lesson I filed away. My son pays city income tax along with state. I tried to warn him but the donā€™t always listen.

Two months ago I paid $54.50 to renew my car license plate tags for two years.

And this yearā€™s personal property tax on my 2014 Camry was $264 which was a significant INCREASE from last yearā€™s $217 tax. The highly inflated prices of used cars meant the tax basis valuation on the car went up a lot despite being a year older with greater mileage.

On a related note, our county government has announced an initiative to have at least 25% of light duty vehicles in the county fleet be EVs by 2027. At the same time county budget cuts include funding to build the charging infrastructure needed for fleet EVā€™s. :thinking:

About $300 a year here in Honolulu

Maybe he doesnā€™t want to pay big fines or go to jail. Heā€™s not a student anymore.

Here in Iowa Iā€™m paying around $60/yr (no way am I digging out paperwork tonight). Newer cars are more (my newest is 2009). First year of registration new owner also pays sales tax.

Fun storyā€¦ Once I was given a beater - front end had been torn off leaving only 1 headlight. It leaked oil everywhere (perpetual oil change!) In signing over the title, we needed to put something in the sale price field. I had a dollar in my pocket so gave that over and filled in the blank ā€œ$1.00ā€.

The look I got from the lady at the county building said loud and clear that she didnā€™t believe me. I was asked to wait a moment while she disappeared around the corner. She then came back with a senior staffer. Then there was another wait while the senior went to get a manager. Then the manager had to make a phone call. I finally had to show them the car. When they saw it, they believed me!

Of course, all this took hours and hours. Earned the dmv reputation that Saturday.

1 Like

funny DMV story, thanks for sharing. Hereā€™s mine, Calif DMV. Recently moved from another state, said I needed new Calif plates.

DMV: Which one of these designs?

One was blue lettering on a white background, the other was yellow lettering on a blue background.

Me: The yellow and blue one.

DMV: We only have these two!

Me: yeah, pointing, the yellow and blue!

DMV: Do you mean the gold and blue?

ā€¦ lolā€¦

California, 2015 Jeep Cherokee

Registration fee: $157.00
License fee: 65.00
Weight fee: 0
Special plate fee: 0
County/district fees: 0
Owner responsibility
fee 0
Total $232.00

The way you do it is mark the sale down for $100. Then give the seller the hundred. He then make a gift to you of $99. Separate transactions. No problems.

Another story. Probably 60 years before my dad bought hand made duck decoys from a relative for $35. But the deal was they could only be sold to another relative with the same surname for $35. What do I do with four bags of decoys and not break the conditions. Gave my son $35 and he paid me for the decoys. I donā€™t know what heā€™s going to do with them but Iā€™m probably the only one alive that knows about the conditions.

Back in the 1960ā€™s, in New York State, the DMV did not care what was on the sales slip if it was less than their ā€œbook value.ā€ They used their version of ā€œa Kelleyā€™s Blue Bookā€ to establish the minimum value for sales tax purposes. If you paid more, they charged you the sales tax for that. They did have some way that you could ā€œgiftā€ a car, but that involved filling out forms and getting notarized signatures. They were not going to make it easyā€¦