![]() 07/19/2015 at 13:35 • Filed to: None | ![]() | ![]() |
Why do so many Atlanta cars have Montana plates? Seriously, at the C&C event I went to this morning, there were at least 10 cars supposedly from Montana, several of which I have seen around town on occasion for months. I’m positive that nearly all of them are exclusively driven in Georgia, so why are they registered in Montana?
Considering an R34 somehow got registered, with a vanity plate that essentially says “I am getting away with registering an illegal car,” I’m guessing Montana has very, very few restrictions on what can be road legal, so the ultra-rich people who own these cars also own a small piece of land up there just so they can register their otherwise illegal cars. Is that the case, or is it just a massive coincidence?
![]() 07/19/2015 at 13:39 |
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You get a lot of out of state plates at C&C in San Francisco. I always assumed it’s for the reason you stated.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 13:41 |
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They wear Montana plates ironically.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 13:42 |
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I'm gonna guess it could be for tax purposes. When I lived in Pennsylvania, I had a neighbor who had several Porsches, a Lamborghini, and a Ferrari, and all of them were registered in Montana.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 13:43 |
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Now that you mention it the F40 shows up at Katies C&C (Metro DC) has either Montana or Minnesota plates on it.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 13:44 |
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It’s something about taxes. Here in Georgia, you have to pay a tax to register an exotic, but in Montana, you don’t. That’s what I believe, at least. Doug wrote about it a couple years ago on TTAC.
Case in point: saw this 458 a week ago at the Y. It’s a Montana plate.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 13:45 |
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It’s a way to avoid paying taxes on them. Basically you pay the (usually much cheaper) Montana taxes. People do it for RVs all the time, and there’s no need to own property there, I think you just start an LLC in Montana and use it to register your vehicles.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 13:48 |
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Taxes I think.
You can like hire a lawyer to get you some or something.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 14:16 |
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MT has no sales tax and it’s very easy to register there if you’re out of state. A loophole that will someday be closed but for now can (should?) be exploited.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 14:24 |
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Tax evasion. It is an easy way to spot people who aren’t as rich as they act.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 14:40 |
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My dad is from MT, there are a lot of rich people who get homes there now and register their cars. Lots of Lambos up there! My dad works in CO and goes up to MT a lot, his cars are all registered in MT. Its like $25, or was, to reg a car.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 14:45 |
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Dat s2000 CR tho.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 14:50 |
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I notice lots of expensive vehicles with Alaska plates here in Southern Ohio. I bet it is some sort of tax dodge.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 16:27 |
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!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Thank you.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 16:29 |
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They should be forced to bring them here and let me drive them for one day a year for their larceny.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 17:57 |
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Such a beautiful car. Dickhead parking.
![]() 07/19/2015 at 17:59 |
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Where in southern Ohio are you? I have a buddy that lives in Lawrence county
![]() 07/19/2015 at 18:28 |
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I live in Warren.
![]() 07/20/2015 at 07:41 |
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Tax evasion, and no emission or safety inspections.
Similar how a crazy number of yachts are registered in Panama or the Bahamas.
![]() 07/20/2015 at 10:33 |
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I’m not well-versed in law, but is that the sort of tax evasion people get arrested for?
Seems kind of stupid to semi-permanently label your high-profile car like that, then. I’d say seeing an exotic car with Montana plates outside of Montana more than one or two times in a month would be enough reasonable suspicion to bring the owner in for questioning, assuming this isn’t a legal tax loophole.
Hell, even if it’s not illegal, it’s still annoying. If you can afford the car, you can afford the taxes. I’m sure that money goes somewhere, and whether it’s really important or not, I’d rather leave it to the rich guys who are supposed to be paying it, rather than us peasants.
![]() 07/20/2015 at 11:36 |
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As far as I can tell, it’s legal.
![]() 07/20/2015 at 11:37 |
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Ah well. It’s not so bad.
![]() 07/20/2015 at 12:02 |
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You are correct it is legal and this is why our counties are able to buy such nice snow plows. They set up an LLC and have the car purchased and registered under the LLC. It’s kind of like having your corporate head quarters in Deleware, it’s not that Deleware is an econimic and technologic hub, it’s just for tax purposes.
![]() 07/20/2015 at 12:11 |
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I should set up an LLC for us. We have barely any snow plows.
![]() 07/20/2015 at 18:10 |
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Its tax evasion in that you’re so rich you can pick and choose which state taxes you want to to follow. For 99.99% of cars it doesn’t make sense to go through the hassle, but for people buying supercars it could save thousands of dollars in taxes.
It becomes a really grey zone. Most states dmv say that you must register a vehicle in within 60, 90 days etc of changing residence or where you intend on keeping the vehicle. Owning multiple homes complicates the issue.
Montana is even more extreme, in that last time I heard you don’t even have own property just a mailbox. The odds of cops going after is unlikely as someone dropping 200k on a car can most likely afford a lawyer. It really becomes a situation where the Ferrari owner is like this
The cases that are prevalent in New England are people driving with Florida plates registered to their grandmothers house.
![]() 10/19/2015 at 20:52 |
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Montana has no sales tax on cars, one time registration on everything over 10 years old, no smog, etc.