6 ms·

Well I will give my state this, we are one of the more friendly states towards electric cars. You can spot a Nissan Leaf about anywhere you go and seeing a Tesl

Well I will give my state this, we are one of the more friendly states towards electric cars. You can spot a Nissan Leaf about anywhere you go and seeing a Tesla, or even one of two Fiskers still about isn't a surprise. The simple matter here is, Tesla needed to sell cars before the law could accommodate a manufacturer direct sales model. Hence an exemption was carved out, likely at the behest of someone influential, so they could. Georgia automobile dealerships have way too much power in our state. They were able to shove through without opposition in the legislature a rewrite of taxation on automobile sales. They wanted all used car sales business to themselves and they nearly got it. Now even private party sales of used vehicles are subject to a tax of close to seven percent. Hence, you buy a car from your friend and go to get a tag, you pay that tax based on the assessed value of your car, not what you bought it for. This value is usually lower than trade in value to a dealer, but figure the shock when you buy a 20k car and you need to fork out 1400 for tags. I am very sure this situation will get fixed quickly. The state wants to appear friendly to tech and manufacturing. Auto dealers, liquor, and cigarettes, are probably the most protected in Georgia but politicians bow to pressure in election cycles to the populace here. note, the real fear is not Tesla, its that other manufacturers will get to setup stores too.

alphydan 12y ago
> 20k car and you need to fork out 1400 for tags. If that shocks you, you've never been to Denmark where you pay $36k in tax on top of the $20k for the car [0]. [0] http://www.copenhagenize.com/2012/10/danish-180-tax-on-cars-is-rather.html http://www.copenhagenize.com/2012/10/danish-180-tax-on-cars-...
- jacquesm 12y ago
  GP meant a second hand sale, not a new car and associated taxes.
- GFischer 12y ago
  You think that's a lot of taxes? You haven't been to Uruguay, we have more than 200% taxes. Example: Citroen DS4 in Denmark, 274.000 kr (U$ 39.000) Citroen DS4 in Uruguay, U$ 49.000 Supposedly Malasya is the 2nd most expensive country to buy cars in the world, and the Citroen DS4 is priced at RM 149,888 - U$ 47.000 (still less than in Uruguay) and in Norway, the most expensive in Europe, it costs kr 283,900 (U$ 45900). I think the only place more expensive than Uruguay is Singapore. Sources: http://autobuzz.my/2014/06/citroen-ds4-1-6-turbo-a-dashing-french-crossover-with-a-different-spirit-video/ http://autobuzz.my/2014/06/citroen-ds4-1-6-turbo-a-dashing-f... http://www.citroen.no/Resources/Content/NO/PRISLISTER/Prisliste_DS4.pdf http://www.citroen.no/Resources/Content/NO/PRISLISTER/Prisli...
cpwright 12y ago
As long as there is also not a personal property tax on top of the sales tax, the sales tax on the used car makes sense to me, being from New York. The atrocious part, is that the dealer is able to charge only a 4% rate instead of the 6+% rate. The trade-in reducing the taxable value is also similar to New York, I'm not entirely sure how to make that fair for private party sales; but I find it a bit less concerning. Potentially if you were to sell and buy a car within 90 days from each other, the sale price could be subtracted from the taxable value that you should pay.
- Jtsummers 12y ago
  I'm not sure about purchasing used cars, but after 2011 or 2012 all new purchases no longer have the ad valorem annual tax. It's just $20 or so a year to update your vehicle registration now. So the tax is shifted to an upfront tax that's lower (over the life of the vehicle) than the previous ad valorem tax revenue. While I like the savings, I'm not sure I understand where they intend to make up the revenue differences.
  - rogov 12y ago
    It is the same in Georgia, as well, for used cars purchased after the law changed. Rather than paying an annual ad valorem tax on the value of the used car, a value added tax is paid when the title is transferred and the car registered to the new owner. As a Georgia resident, I prefer the new law to the old, with the exception of the loopholes for new car dealers.

alphydan 12y ago

> 20k car and you need to fork out 1400 for tags. If that shocks you, you've never been to Denmark where you pay $36k in tax on top of the $20k for the car [0]. [0] http://www.copenhagenize.com/2012/10/danish-180-tax-on-cars-is-rather.html http://www.copenhagenize.com/2012/10/danish-180-tax-on-cars-...

jacquesm 12y ago
GP meant a second hand sale, not a new car and associated taxes.
GFischer 12y ago
You think that's a lot of taxes? You haven't been to Uruguay, we have more than 200% taxes. Example: Citroen DS4 in Denmark, 274.000 kr (U$ 39.000) Citroen DS4 in Uruguay, U$ 49.000 Supposedly Malasya is the 2nd most expensive country to buy cars in the world, and the Citroen DS4 is priced at RM 149,888 - U$ 47.000 (still less than in Uruguay) and in Norway, the most expensive in Europe, it costs kr 283,900 (U$ 45900). I think the only place more expensive than Uruguay is Singapore. Sources: http://autobuzz.my/2014/06/citroen-ds4-1-6-turbo-a-dashing-french-crossover-with-a-different-spirit-video/ http://autobuzz.my/2014/06/citroen-ds4-1-6-turbo-a-dashing-f... http://www.citroen.no/Resources/Content/NO/PRISLISTER/Prisliste_DS4.pdf http://www.citroen.no/Resources/Content/NO/PRISLISTER/Prisli...

cpwright 12y ago

As long as there is also not a personal property tax on top of the sales tax, the sales tax on the used car makes sense to me, being from New York. The atrocious part, is that the dealer is able to charge only a 4% rate instead of the 6+% rate. The trade-in reducing the taxable value is also similar to New York, I'm not entirely sure how to make that fair for private party sales; but I find it a bit less concerning. Potentially if you were to sell and buy a car within 90 days from each other, the sale price could be subtracted from the taxable value that you should pay.

Jtsummers 12y ago
I'm not sure about purchasing used cars, but after 2011 or 2012 all new purchases no longer have the ad valorem annual tax. It's just $20 or so a year to update your vehicle registration now. So the tax is shifted to an upfront tax that's lower (over the life of the vehicle) than the previous ad valorem tax revenue. While I like the savings, I'm not sure I understand where they intend to make up the revenue differences.
- rogov 12y ago
  It is the same in Georgia, as well, for used cars purchased after the law changed. Rather than paying an annual ad valorem tax on the value of the used car, a value added tax is paid when the title is transferred and the car registered to the new owner. As a Georgia resident, I prefer the new law to the old, with the exception of the loopholes for new car dealers.