Quote:
Originally Posted by chris719
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmg
You don't lie because you don't have to be a resident or even be in the state. You just have to file for an LLC and have a registered agent in the state of Montana. Again, Montana gains financially from that as described in my post. Yes, another state loses out on sales tax, but that's the "free market". Montana won their business with an incentive, and it's financially viable. Other states can do the same and benefit similarly, but they feel that taxing car sales generates more income for them. That's capitalism, it's not cheating.
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It is not an issue of Montana law, it's with your actual home state. It's also an issue with your insurance company. It is absolutely cheating. CHP has a website to turn people in, and other states in the Northeast are also very aggressive. There are lots of threads on this all over the internet and have been for years. If you attempt this in 2020 and daily drive the car you are asking for trouble. Maybe you will get away with it, but people with several exotic cars have had their homes raided in Georgia.
I have no idea why you think your home state is fine with you not paying sales tax on a new car purchase (if it has such a tax). If you live in Montana or actually operate out of Montana, so be it, but that is not what this scam is about. In most states, if you garage it in the state and drive it in the state, you will owe sales and/or use tax. |
I wasn't fully aware of the crackdown. I guess it is illegal, and in that case you are right. If you have to lie to your insurance co about where the car is etc then that is a problem. I assumed people were using loopholes to get around insurance problems like storing their exotics in Montana for a certain amount of time out of the year etc. I do feel, however, that it is the taxpayer's responsibility to utilize every tax advantage strategy they can. It's not that I don't believe in paying taxes, I do and I pay a lot, but if I didn't take advantage of every tax incentives out there, then not only would I be paying much more, but I wouldn't be fulfilling the role of those tax incentives: stimulate a sector of the economy through targeted incentives. It's not JUST to save people money, it's to encourage a wanted behavior. Want to sell more trucks? Give a tax write off for trucks. Want to encourage charitable contributions? Write off. I don't think wanting to pay less taxes is morally bankrupt so long as you are being honest and within the boundaries of the law.