I've received an email from Old Cars Weekly stating that the Connecticut Legislature has proposed a 400% tax increase on the personal property taxes paid for antique vehicles; it raises the tax cap from $500 to $2,500 for each registered classic car.
Luckily, the Historic Vehicle Association, an organization founded by Hagerty Insurance that is dedicated to protecting the rights of collector car owners, is lobbying opposition. “We feel this bill is unfair and discriminatory, won’t accomplish its goal, and could cost more in the long run by losing jobs and reduced economic activity,” says Carmel Roberts, Director of Government Relations for the Historic Vehicle Association. “The negative impacts caused by this proposed tax far outweigh any potential benefit.”
They list the following negative impacts of this proposal:
• This 400% tax increase focuses on one percent of the population potentially causing an antique vehicle owner to pay more vehicle tax than household property tax.
• This attempt to raise $2 million for local municipalities could potentially cost the state money through deferred registration of antique vehicles where people are tempted to register their cars in other states or sell their antique vehicles outright.
• Nationally, antique car owners spend $35 billion each year and donate more than $59 million to charitable organizations. Connecticut car clubs host hundreds of events each year and support for these events, charities and local business revenue could suffer or completely disappear. Less antique car use would have a negative overall economic impact in the State of Connecticut.
The Historic Vehicle Association urges everyone to contact Connecticut State Legislators to encourage them to oppose House Bill 5580 - find more information at www.historicvehicle.org/Help-Stop-CT-Tax-Increase.
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