Car Registration

[Taem]

I guess this is going to be a rant: I am sitting here looking at my California registration and wondering a few things, such as:

1) why am I'm getting charged a fee based on the current value of my car when I already paid for my car, and the taxes based on that value?
2) does a car's value actually "cost" more in paperwork if the car costs' more?
3) is this even legal?

Ironically, I could find no useful information on the "why's" on DMV's site "Resource For Anything DMV Related!". Nor on Wiki. Now I read somewhere that this money goes towards road repairs and whatnot, a worth cause I'm sure <_<, but I wonder what bill my parents, or theirs, voted on to charge a fee based on a cars value to register it with the state. Why not just a flat fee added to all cars regardless of their value. I feel like I'm being cheated out of my money by the state just because I bought a new car. I can't even imagine if I got a luxury car.

[kandrathe]

...
I feel like I'm being cheated out of my money by the state ...

Go with your feelings, Luke.

[roguebanshee]

I guess this is going to be a rant: I am sitting here looking at my California registration and wondering a few things, such as:

1) why am I'm getting charged a fee based on the current value of my car when I already paid for my car, and the taxes based on that value?
2) does a car's value actually "cost" more in paperwork if the car costs' more?
3) is this even legal?

1) Likely to get you to buy a smaller car, which may have a better mpg (small cars tend to be cheap, small cars tend to get higher mpg). And bigger, more expensive cars do tend to cause (slightly) more wear and tear on the roads.
2) Probably not, but it's an incentive to not buy a $100000, 10 mpg tank.
3) If it's on your papers from an official source, then it's as legal as your normal income tax.

Besides, this kind of scheme can reduce road tax. All in all, it's likely designed to make you think about the vehicle you're going to use.

[kandrathe]

1) Likely to get you to buy a smaller car, which may have a better mpg (small cars tend to be cheap, small cars tend to get higher mpg). And bigger, more expensive cars do tend to cause (slightly) more wear and tear on the roads.
2) Probably not, but it's an incentive to not buy a $100000, 10 mpg tank.
3) If it's on your papers from an official source, then it's as legal as your normal income tax.

Besides, this kind of scheme can reduce road tax. All in all, it's likely designed to make you think about the vehicle you're going to use.

Actually, it has less to do with mpg, and more to do with progressive taxation. The better your car, the more you can afford to pay in taxes.

[Phyloxerra]

There was a similar scheme in Colorado when I lived there in '99-'02. Luckily I drove a 1985 Isuzu Trooper that cost me $29 to register. It's one of the reasons I haven't moved back there since I recently upgraded to a 2005 Toyota 4Runner that would probably cost me upwards of $125 to register.
I know, sounds like a pretty dumb reason to not move back to paradise, but I just don't happen to agree with the policy.

[DeeBye]

It's about $75 per year in Ontario. It's a flat fee no matter the type of car.

[--Pete]

Hi,

. . . in Ontario. It's a flat fee no matter the type of car.

And that's the way it should be everywhere, IMHO.

--Pete

[Taem]

Hi,
And that's the way it should be everywhere, IMHO.

--Pete

FYI, the registration fee for my 2005 Ford Mustang GT here in California is close to $300.00 this year.

[kandrathe]

FYI, the registration fee for my 2005 Ford Mustang GT here in California is close to $300.00 this year.

Jesse Ventura changed the laws here. It is still progressive, but now it only varies between $35 and $99. It used to be like $300+ for a new car, and would drop a little every year.

[roguebanshee]

There was a similar scheme in Colorado when I lived there in '99-'02. Luckily I drove a 1985 Isuzu Trooper that cost me $29 to register. It's one of the reasons I haven't moved back there since I recently upgraded to a 2005 Toyota 4Runner that would probably cost me upwards of $125 to register.
I know, sounds like a pretty dumb reason to not move back to paradise, but I just don't happen to agree with the policy.

Just be happy you don't live in Denmark then.

Registration tax for a new car is 180% of unregistred value (including the cost of most non-safety optionals). Yearly tax starts around $100 for cars with good (50+) mpg values and ends somewhere above $1000 for cars with poor mpg. Helps pay for road construction and maintenance while trying to push towards less environmentally taxing vehicles.

[Nastie_Bowie]

Just be happy you don't live in Denmark then.

Registration tax for a new car is 180% of unregistred value (including the cost of most non-safety optionals). Yearly tax starts around $100 for cars with good (50+) mpg values and ends somewhere above $1000 for cars with poor mpg. Helps pay for road construction and maintenance while trying to push towards less environmentally taxing vehicles.

Gotta love socialism. Big brother is watching.

:lol:

[eppie]

Gotta love socialism. Big brother is watching.

:lol:

And it seems to work. The last few years the Danes were apparantly he happiest people on earth* (you can have question as to how this was investigated but there is a lot of truth in it), and also the wealth and economic prosperity are great. Besides that, drinking a beer on the street will not get you your ass kicked and in some places you can actually decide yourself if you want to use softdrugs without 'big brother' telling you that it is bad for you.

* which is extra amazing seeing the low amount of sunny days (and it has been proven that sunlight makes you happier)

[Rhydderch Hael]

...I am sitting here looking at my California registration ... I feel like I'm being cheated out of my money by the state...

Is this really a mystery? We as a state have an economy bigger than some countries, but if a country operated the way the California legislature did, Arizona and Nevada would have formed an alliance and rolled over our borders to restore security in the region.

[--Pete]

Hi,

. . . Danes were apparantly he happiest people on earth*

It's genetic. That's because the unhappy Danes all left circa 900 to 1100 CE and conquered the world:)

--Pete

[Nystul]

FYI, the registration fee for my 2005 Ford Mustang GT here in California is close to $300.00 this year.

I can almost get registration and a year of insurance for that much.:)