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New I-695 game: Park it and wait
NEW I-695 GAME: PARK IT & WAIT
SOME WILL WAIT TO SEE IF CAR-TAX MEASURE PASSES BEFORE RENEWING LICENSES
Thursday, October 14, 1999
By GREGG HERRINGTON, Columbian staff writer
If Initiative 695 passes, Paula Sampson's 1996 Dodge Intrepid, with its expired
license plates, will sit in her garage all of December. Then, when she brings
it out again Jan. 1, she'd be $375 richer and the state that much poorer.
Sampson's licenses plates expire in November, and in other years she wouldn't
wait to write out a check and mail it in.
"I like to pay things early, to get them out of the way and not forget them,"
she said this week at her Minnehaha-area home.
But this year she's waiting until election day. If I-695 passes on Nov. 2,
repealing the state motor vehicle excise tax, Sampson's Dodge will remain unlicensed
until January, when she would renew the plates for a mere $30 and a $3 filing
fee. That's $33 compared to the $408 she owes next month, for a net savings
of $375.
Call it "Waiting for 695," the new game more and more motorists likely are
to play this fall as they learn about the ballot measure.
There are 5.6 million licensed vehicles in the state, an average of 466,000
due for renewal each month. With the I-695 campaign a major state news story
in recent weeks, it's anybody's guess how many motorists with car licenses up
for renewal this fall might do the same as Sampson.
Until Jan., 1 Sampson says, she would be willing to forego some trips, take
the bus, or get a ride with a neighbor. She also could buy a $15 three-day trip
permit for her unlicensed car from a county auto-licensing agency. A maximum
of three may be purchased in any 30-day period. (Recreational vehicles are limited
to two three-day permits in an entire year, at the same price. Trip permits
are good only within the state of Washington.)
Worth the risk?
In a pinch, Sampson admits, she might even risk getting a ticket and take
her car, with its expired plates, out for a quick errand. If she gets nabbed
by police, it would cost her $71, a bargain compared to the cost of renewing
now. The citation when plates have been expired more than two months jumps to
$157.
In Clark County alone, about 18,000 passenger cars, vans and non-commercial
pickups get new or renewed licenses every month, said Mark Varadian, spokesman
for the state Department of Licensing. The county's August figures were 16,549
license renewals and 930 licenses for new cars.
Sales could be affected
Prospective new-car buyers could take a wait-and-see stance, too, just as
those facing renewal notices might. Then, if voters approve I-695 on Nov. 2,
many might wait until after the first of the year to buy a new car to avoid
the excise tax.
Dealers, in efforts to keep customers coming in the door, might offer rebates
equivalent to the tax and other incentives, and push harder to attract Oregon
buyers.
"The buzz on the street is people are beginning to say, 'Wait and see,' said
Lee Soder, who operates Soder Motors on St. John's Road north of Vancouver.
On the other hand, Soder notes, many for-sale cars have plates that already
have been renewed this year.
The MSRP and you
The state's motor vehicle excise tax that I-695 would repeal is figured at
2.2 percent of something called the manufacturer's suggested retail price, or
MSRP, even though cars almost always sell for something less than the MSRP.
The state has established a depreciation schedule based on that MSRP. For
example, in their first year, cars are taxed the 2.2 percent of the full MSRP.
In a car's second year, the tax is 2.2 percent of 95 percent of the MSRP. The
third year, it is based on 83 percent. That value keeps dropping for 13 years,
then holds at 10 percent of the MSRP.
Washington's 'dumb'
For Sampson, who lives with her husband and two children, the question of
whether to pay the $408 to renew the vehicle license now or wait to see what
voters do next month was a no-brainer ---- an easy way to make $375.
"Washington is really dumb," Sampson says. "They let Oregon have all the advantages.
"Oregonians don't have to pay sales tax in Oregon, and if they come over here
to shop, the stores don't charge them sales tax. Washington residents who go
over there to shop are helping Oregon merchants, and Oregon gets income tax
from our people who work in Portland. They also have cheap auto licenses.
"Washington's getting the shaft."
No more crackdowns?
If I-695 passes, she reasons, all the Clark County residents driving around
with Oregon plates on their cars won't have any reason not to switch to Washington
plates, and that would help Washington and hurt Oregon.
Plus, she said, the state would save the cost of its occasional on-ramp crackdowns
by the State Patrol on motorists with out-of-state plates.
Whether police will aggressively enforce the expired-plates law is another
question.
Sgt. Keith Kilian of the Clark County Sheriff's Office said many road deputies
keep a sharp eye out for old tags and issue citations.
"It's an easy stop to make and an easy violation to prove," he said. "More
times than not, there are other problems. The driver might have an expired operator's
license or could be driving while suspended. Maybe there are warrants out for
his arrest. An expired plate can signal a whole array of things."
But Lt. Ken Smelcer of the Washington State Patrol in Olympia said, "Our goal
is to prevent accidents, so we tend to concentrate on moving, accident-causing
violations."
The large majority of citations the WSP issues for expired tabs, he said,
are because the motorist was stopped for something else.
Gregg Herrington covers state and local issues and may be reached at 699-6006,
Ext. 2325, or via e-mail at gregg.herrington@columbian.com.
AT A GLANCE
* Issue: Whether to renew vehicle license plates this fall
* Why not? If Initiative 695 passes, state motor vehicle excise tax will be
repealed Jan. 1, saving motorists with late-model and high-end cars hundreds
of dollars per year.
* Then why renew? You can't legally drive on public roads without up-to-date
plates. Fines start at $71. For those with lower-valued cars, the savings might
not be worth the hassle anyway. Also, some say, "It's the right thing to do."
* Worth noting: If I-695 passes, there will be no rebates to motorists who
renew their plates now, and no penalty or back payments due from those who do
not. Even if 695 passes, motorists will owe $30 license-renewal fees and $3
filing fees, plus more for specialized and vanity plates.
