VA isn't much better. My wife registered her 3 year old 4runner here after moving down. Promptly received a property tax bill totaling $1000. Needless to say it was promptly re-registered in FL for a grand total of $75. I sent a nice email letting them know that the vehicle was no longer and would never again be registered in the state of VA and that they could shove their $1000 bill.
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Any downside to becoming a Florida resident?
- Thread starter Hammer10k
- Start date
VA isn't much better. My wife registered her 3 year old 4runner here after moving down. Promptly received a property tax bill totaling $1000. Needless to say it was promptly re-registered in FL for a grand total of $75. I sent a nice email letting them know that the vehicle was no longer and would never again be registered in the state of VA and that they could shove their $1000 bill.
When we lived in VA Mrs Pags got a similar bill. As a military member I promptly bought her car for $1 and then dodged that stupid tax bill with the military exemption.
RadicalDude
Social Justice Warlord
That's a ~$30,000 (current value) vehicle. $1000 is a 3.3% property tax. Doesn't seem that insane to me.
In Virginia, they charge you that vehicle tax every year
RadicalDude
Social Justice Warlord
I know, I lived there for 5 years. If you don't like it, you should vote in a legislature that will change it.
Also, no one is forcing you to own a $30,000 or even $20,000 vehicle. And if you're not in the military, no is forcing you to live in VA. That's a personal decision.
Also, no one is forcing you to own a $30,000 or even $20,000 vehicle. And if you're not in the military, no is forcing you to live in VA. That's a personal decision.
Well, when your other choices are Maryland and DC that isn't much of a choice now is it?
Different states, different taxes and different ways to get your money. It just confirms the conclusions in this thread, there is little to no downside to becoming a FL resident while you are active duty in the military mainly because you get to avoid many of the taxes in other states where you might live.
Beyond this, in my experience with Florida's government, I've had little to no problems getting anything done. Seriously - in a matter of minutes, in the small town of Milton, I was able to report one car sold, re-print the registration of another (for free, by the way), then go to the property appraiser and apply for the Homestead Exemption, then go to the voter registration to change my voting district. That same person who printed my registration could have also gotten me a Hunting License, and could have collected any fees I owed. In NY , MD, or CA that would have been a full day event. In Florida? 10-15 minutes to get all of that done. Their "tax collector" system that most people would call the DMV is awesome because each clerk is empowered to do any of their services, which is also unlike other states I have lived in. Re-registering several states away? No problem. Want to register for 2 years? No problem. No need to get car inspected after the first one, and that's not even a real inspection where you have to make a separate appointment with a mechanic - it's more of a DMV clerk saying "your VIN matches and all 4 tires are on the car." I have found it to be an incredibly efficiently run government, at least on the State and County Levels (speaking for Escambia and then Santa Rosa counties).
I'll compare that to my experience with CA where the smog check is an annual requirement (and separate from the inspection I believe), registering the car is more expensive, the wait line for the DMV call center exceeds 2 hours; and when my wife applied for the benefits she was owed from the state for maternity purposes, was given bureaucratic roadblocks at every turn (partially due to my wife's HR department) despite being a tax payer within the state of California. Or Maryland, and your car is not allowed on the road with a single tiny crack in the windscreen and is subject to a hefty ticket and the DMV appointments need to be made months in advance, or in NY, where each DMV clerk is singularly responsible for literally one thing, requiring you to wait in line multiple times in order to complete more than one task.
Paying, effectively, the sales tax on your car EVERY year is excessive. And no thanks on becoming a VA resident just so I can cast my vote in the welfare state that is the 757 area code in the hopes that it'll make some kind of change. I think I'll stay in FL and reap the benefits of 0 income tax, 0 yearly vehicle property tax, 0 vehicle sales tax, an easily accessible concealed weapons permit, and a VERY military friendly local government.
And yes, the US government IS forcing me to live here. I don't exactly get much of say in my orders/career progression. That's why they're called ORDERS. However, thanks to the US and FL governments, there is certainly NOT anyone forcing me to maintain my residency here so I'll be happy to keep/move it to FL where the beaches are great, sunsets are beautiful, and the taxes are nice and low/nonexistant.
If you're unaware, in economics this is called "The point of diminishing returns". When you price your product too high (or in this case, tax your people too heavily) you won't sell as much (or in this case, people will establish residency elsewhere) which will therefore bring profits (tax revenue) down.
To the question posed in thread title....
RadicalDude
Social Justice Warlord
Reread what I wrote. I said no one is forcing you if you're not in the military. Your ball is in the fairway, why all the bitching?