Why Wealthy Drivers Register Luxury Cars In Montana

The chances that I will ever be driving a Lamborghini are pretty much zero. They seem like fine cars, but a little out of my price range. But I'm puzzled by something. It seems that those who can afford Lamborghini's and ATV's and boats have been trying to avoid taxes on these items by registering them in Montana.

Look, I have a distaste of taxes as much as anyone, but if you can afford these items, is the tax really that much of a deal breaker?

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Up in Montana, they don't have a sales tax (Utah Legislature are you listening!), and so, some enterprising folks set up a LLC in Montana, something that is not all that difficult or expensive to do, and then register their vehicles in the name of that LLC. Some of them do this while spending absolutely no time in Treasure State.

Read More: Looking To Get Pulled Over In Utah? Here's How!

Well, that party has now come to an end thanks to Utah State Senator Brady Brammer. Brammer introduced SB52 in the legislature this last January. After some modifications (like any bill can get through the legislature without some tweaking), the bill was passed by the state senate in February, passed by the house in March and signed in to law by Governor Cox on March 25^th.

The bill allows the the Utah State Tax Commission to contract with a designated agent to the address to which the vehicle's insurance is tied to assist the commission in determining if the owner of the vehicle is, in fact, a resident of Utah.

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So it's not like law enforcement will be out pulling over every vehicle that has a Montana plate on it. However, if the tax commission determines you have registered your car out of state illegally, they will send you a notice. You would then have 60 days to properly register the car. After that, you could face some stiff penalties....like 100% of the tax you should have paid, on top of that tax.