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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!think!harvard!bbnccv!bbncca!linus!faron!ao
From: ao@faron.UUCP (Alan R. Ouellette)
Newsgroups: net.taxes,net.legal,net.auto
Subject: Paying Sales tax twice
Message-ID: <493@faron.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 27-Feb-86 18:10:55 EST
Article-I.D.: faron.493
Posted: Thu Feb 27 18:10:55 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Mar-86 17:20:38 EST
Reply-To: ao@faron.UUCP (Alan R. Ouellette)
Organization: The MITRE Coporation, Bedford, MA
Lines: 46
Xref: watmath net.taxes:1030 net.legal:3000 net.auto:9597

<eat this>

     I am currently mired in a situation involving the Massachusetts
Registry of Motor Vehicles.  In September, 1985, I bought a new car
from a Massachusetts car dealer (I got a good deal).  At the time,
I was a Vermont resident (22 years) and I was still living in 
Vermont, so I registered the car in Vermont, which involved paying
sales tax to the state of Vermont.  I have since moved to 
Massachusetts and I need to register my car in Massachusetts.  I
went to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles to get plates,
figuring it would cost about $50 to transfer the registration.  I
was wrong!  Massachusetts will not register my car until I pay them
5% sales tax on the car, plus penalties and interest.  They don't
recognize or give me credit for the sales tax that I paid to Vermont.
Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles won't refund the sales tax that
I paid them.  So, the bottom line is that in order to register my
car in Massachusetts, I have to pay the sales tax again.

     It seems like this should be illegal.  I should only have to
pay sales tax once.  There must be some sort of legal precident
against one state taxing you for a sales tax that has already been 
paid to another state.  My question is: How do I fight this?  I
have talked to the Legal Advisory Resource Center of the Boston
Bar Association, who basically said I have to pay again.  Talking 
to the people at the Registry gets me the response  "...Because
it's the law and that's the way it is...Uh-huh Uh-huh"  Isn't it 
unconstitutional to levy a tax because I have moved?  Or to levy
a sales tax twice for the same purchase?  I need help and have run
out of ideas...so I'm hoping someone in Netland has a fresh insight
as to how I can get out of this.  I have to resolve it by March 15
because I have to get Mass. car insurance by then.

     If I end up having to pay this tax,  can I pay them 626,018
pennies?  Can they refuse to accept pennies as legal tender?  And
if they do, can I say that they refused payment and be able to get 
my registration anyway?

     Please respond to me directly and I will let you know how this
all turns out.

			Sincerely,
				
			    Al Ouellette

linus!ao   or linus!faron!ao
work phone: 617-863-6938