Reader Brian e-mails:
I was wondering if you were familiar with or know of those who have been burnt by the privilege of titling and licensing a car in West Virginia. When coming into WV from another state, you are required to pay 5 percent of the market value of your car in order to pay the licensing fees that allow you the honor of navigating the most treacherous roads in America.
When [my wife] Debra purchased her first car in Pennsylvania, not knowing the law in WV, she paid the sales tax for PA. Two weeks later when she moved to WV and went to get WV tags for her car, she was welcomed with a $500 privilege tax. Another fine example of money for nothing!
Yep, that sounds like something the bureaucrats in my home state would do.
I’ll bet it’s their attempt at collecting “use taxes,” those nasty penalties imposed on people (but rarely collected) who shop for tobacco and other goods across state borders because taxes are lower. That’s why so many brick-and-mortar store owners hate the Internet these days.
