The State of Maine reportedly imposes upon its residents one of the heftiest vehicle tax burdens in the nation.
According to a recent study from the personal finance website WalletHub, Maine has the fifth highest vehicle tax rate in the country, coming in at an effective rate of 2.40 percent.
Virginia was found to have the highest effective tax rate — 3.97 percent — meanwhile 25 states were shown to impose no vehicle-specific taxes.
Among those states with no state vehicular tax burden are: Alaska, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Of the states that WalletHub did calculate as having an effective vehicle tax rate, Louisiana was the lowest at one-tenth of a percent.
Click Here to Read the Full WalletHub Study
In Maine, motor vehicle taxes are collected annually in the form of an excise tax, calculated based on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of the car and the vehicle’s age.
The rate at which a vehicle is taxed — or the mill rate — drops annually for the first six years after a car is produced, at which point the amount owed plateaus for the remainder of the vehicle’s life in the state.
According to the Maine Revenue Service (MRS) website, this MSRP-based system has been in place since 1925, as the Legislature at the time decided “that the fairest tax assessment would be based on what the manufacturer suggests it sell for.”
Included in WalletHub’s rankings are the estimated tax bill for a $26,420 vehicle, for which Maine is shown as hypothetically charging $634.
Because this amount corresponds to a mill rate of .0240 — the tax imposed upon cars in their first year — it is indicative that the state’s relative position is based only on the tax burden imposed upon vehicles in the first year, not on the overall tax bill paid over a vehicle’s lifetime.
In addition to imposing a recurring tax on vehicle owners, Maine also requires that cars receive an annual safety inspection.
Last year, lawmakers resoundingly defeated a bill that would have raised the cost associated with these inspections and given the Maine State Police (MSP) the authority to create an electronic surveillance system to track vehicle inspections.
[RELATED: Maine Senate Rejects Vehicle Inspections Fee Hike and Electronic Surveillance System]
Following the House’s approval of the measure, the Senate defeated the legislation in a 30-2 roll call vote in which Sen. Brad Farrin (R-Somerset) and Sen. Matthew Pouliot (R-Kennebec) were the only two in the Senate to express support for the bill.
In requiring these annual safety inspections, Maine is in the minority. According to Kelley Blue Book (KBB), the majority of states do not require any sort of recurring safety inspections.
Among those that do require scheduled vehicle inspections, only some require that they be completed on an annual basis, as a handful of states only mandate that cars be inspected every two years.
I can safely say I have never paid Mfg. suggested retail price for a new vehicle yet I’m taxed for it, something that pisses me off even after all these years.
Just another tax scam perpetrated on Maine citizens by our “leaders”.
I’ve also followed the inspection law arguments for years. At the end of the day they like to say “we make no money on inspection stickers” and that it’s “for safety reasons”. All of which is hogwash. It’s all about tax and business licensing revenue. “Safety” is just the guise.
Garages have to have a business license, an inspection certificate, plus licensed inspectors, and a tax certificate, to name just a few (all of which cost money). Depending on type of service, they may need others. Garages sell and install parts, (which generates sales tax for the state), and provide you with that precious inspection sticker. Go past the expiration date of that sticker, and the popo will give you a citation (which is more money out of your pocket). The entire circle is about how much they can take from your pocket, and to keep you “compliant” so they can continue the ruse.
Truth be known, there’s also a law on the books that allows popo to stop you if they deem your vehicle to appear unsafe, If they find three items not meeting standards, they can impound your vehicle. That one law could eliminate the annual inspection by itself. But, again, it’s not really about the “safety”; it’s about the revenue.
Ex Mainer living in Florida. Just registered my 2022 Toyota Highland Platinum in January. $92 for TWO years.
The folks in Augusta need the money to pay for their retirement package and next the future voters–illegals.
GatorGuy my home in Maine is assesed at 1/2 the value of my relative in Florida and I pay twice the dollar amount here in Maine I know they have no snow to plow and it is a republican State. And illegals are sent packing back to CUBA. Are you awake yet Angus?