Those who’ve been following statewide news will know that the General Assembly has permitted cities and towns to increase their revenue from motor vehicle taxes by exempting only the first $500 of value. (Previously, the first $6,000 was exempt.) In Tiverton, that means another $105 per car valued over $6,000. Those who’ve been following this blog will know that Tiverton Tax Assessor David Robert believes that any additional tax revenue taken in by this method should automatically decrease the property tax rate for homeowners.
According to the Newport Daily news, however, the Town Council has thus far not made a decision:
That forces the town to decide if it will just continue to provide the $6,000 exemption to residents this year only, said Goncalo, or levy a motor vehicle excise tax above the $500. That action might require a special financial town meeting, Goncalo said.
The options currently on the table appear to fall into three categories:
- The town could ignore the new authority and keep taxation the same as it would have been if the General Assembly had not granted the power.
- The town could impose the tax and automatically adjust the property tax levy. Officially, the motor vehicle tax is a state tax that the towns are allowed to collect and keep, so an FTM might not be necessary.
- The town could host another FTM that could, presumably, determine that the municipality needs both the car tax and the property tax. (What limits the town could place on the third FTM before the fact, I don’t know.)
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