![]() 02/15/2018 at 10:38 • Filed to: Car buying tips, Tax Advice | ![]() | ![]() |
One key thing that I noticed on John Cena’s purchase contract for his Ford GT is that he only paid $2,300 in county taxes and $0 in sales taxes on a $460k car. That’s 0.5%. How did he manage that?
He formed a new company in Montana, where they apparently don’t charge tax on vehicles. Searching for the address on the contract brings up the following law firm, who conveniently offer to do all of the work of forming the company and registering the car for you, for a fee.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
According to my math, buying the same car in
Commiefornia
California would have cost almost $45k for taxes and registration. In Florida, where John Cena lives according to Wikipedia, it would be closer to $28k.
![]() 02/15/2018 at 10:57 |
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Would be nice to see California go after these sorts of dodges.
![]() 02/15/2018 at 10:58 |
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Heaven forbid someone pay taxes into the system that helped enable them to acquire their fortunes.
![]() 02/15/2018 at 11:05 |
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I know tax avoidance is not the same as tax evasion but damn, this is disgusting.
![]() 02/15/2018 at 11:08 |
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I edited the post - He’s from FL, not CA. So $28k vs $45k.
![]() 02/15/2018 at 11:12 |
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Oops, well then I hope FL cracks down!
![]() 02/15/2018 at 11:28 |
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They should be punished just the same. What he did is not the same as claiming any legal deduction you’re allowed to under the tax code to reduce your tax liability. This is just horseshit.
![]() 02/15/2018 at 11:30 |
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Montana should pull their head out of their ass and start racing vehicle sales. As long as they’re lower than other states the scum of the earth will still register their car there.
![]() 02/15/2018 at 12:01 |
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This might be an apocryphal story but back when Washington based the cost of your yearly license tabs on the value of the car somebody (the story usually points to a Microsoft employee) licensed a 427 Cobra as a “1965 Ford”.
![]() 02/15/2018 at 12:18 |
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Pretty crazy, since I just paid almost $1000 in taxes in MO on a car that was $12,000
![]() 02/15/2018 at 12:28 |
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Sure.
But how do you propose they do that?
![]() 02/15/2018 at 12:30 |
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So let’s say there are three parties here; Cena, Florida, and Montana...
Who’s at fault?
![]() 02/15/2018 at 12:39 |
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Cena. He doesn’t live in Montana and only used their lack of taxes to avoid paying taxes.
![]() 02/15/2018 at 12:56 |
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Probably tie in to license plate reader systems to evaluate which cars “live” in state vs. ones that are just visiting.
![]() 02/15/2018 at 13:22 |
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But doesn’t he have a company there?
![]() 02/15/2018 at 13:25 |
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*said like Buster Blooth*
“Hey Big Brother!”
What do we suppose should constitute “living” somewhere versus my favorite Florida interaction; the “visit?”
![]() 02/15/2018 at 14:23 |
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Now he has one on paper thanks to a law firm he hired.
![]() 02/15/2018 at 15:13 |
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The company owns the GT, no?
![]() 02/15/2018 at 16:08 |
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“The company” may own it. But it’s all just on paper to avoid paying taxes. It would be another thing entirely if he had a legit business in another state that employed people and brought in tax revenue, but that’s not the case here.
![]() 02/15/2018 at 16:22 |
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So what’s a legit company? I have a feeling the company in Montana is likely compliant with state regulations on formation and taxes/fees, etc. How do you define what is legitimate? Who makes that call?
![]() 02/15/2018 at 16:27 |
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I already did: a company which has employees and produces revenue, profits, and tax revenue. What he has is a company on paper, and that’s it.
![]() 02/15/2018 at 18:14 |
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Are there zero costs to setting up and maintaining a company in Montana?