By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
Legislation has been introduced to eliminate a provision in the Connecticut statutes that allows antiques, rare or special-interest motor vehicles to be assessed at a value of no more than $500. Under the bill, valuation of these vehicles will be done in the same manner as all other motor vehicles in the state. Vehicles in Connecticut are taxed by the municipality in which they are registered and rates vary by municipality.
The municipality calculates the owner’s tax liability for a particular vehicle by multiplying the "mill rate" by 70% of the vehicle’s true and actual value. Tax assessors are looking to target motor vehicles for additional revenue at a time when it appears that property taxes are increasing for many Connecticut citizens on other taxable property. The bill ignores the fact that existing antique, rare or special-interest motor vehicles constitute a small portion of the vehicle fleet and are well-maintained, infrequently operated hobby cars and deserving of continued property tax benefits.
For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.