Watch out, you license cheats. Your free-ride days are numbered

It’s a fairness thing. And yes, it’s a “do the right thing” thing. The fact is, millions of dollars are lost every year that would otherwise help support public programs and services for folks who live in Washington. That’s because thousands of vehicles kept in Clark County where their owners reside are licensed in Oregon instead of the Evergreen State.

State Rep. Jim Moeller has captured unanimous support in the two legislative chambers for his plan “to put a stop to these tax scalawags.” Moeller’s measure, House Bill 2436, seeks to quash a subterfuge that tax cheats employ to enjoy the public services of Washington.

“Although they con the system, these people still get an education for their kids, for instance, and protection for their home and property. They don’t carry their fair share of the tax weight that goes toward making these services possible. In snubbing our state’s law, the owners of these vehicles get out of paying our state’s sales-and-use tax.”

House Deputy Speaker Pro Tempore Moeller is on the verge of getting gubernatorial ink to make his bill the law of the state. He said that as much as $10 million in annual revenue never makes it to the Washington treasury to help pay for Washington programs and services.

“The Clark County Vehicle License Task Force has included dozens of local volunteers who have worked with dedicated Washington State Patrol troopers to round up these chiselers.” The cost of the Task Force is approximately $325,000 per year, added Moeller, “and the program can actually more than pay for itself.”

A member of the House Transportation Committee where the legislation was first discussed, Moeller noted that some people do register their vehicles in Washington, but continue to keep their out-of-state driver’s license – “and they do so as a way to avoid paying our state’s sales tax when they buy goods and services here. These folks are using our state=s services, but they’re not helping pay for them. We’re talking about our schools, our roads, and our public-safety services that are funded by the taxes that the rest of us do pay.”

Washington law says that when a person establishes residency here, he or she must register his or her vehicles – and reregister the vehicles every year – if the vehicles will be operated on Washington’s public roads and highways. The person must pay all required licensing fees and taxes. To make sure that folks are not just registering their vehicles in Washington and then keeping their Oregon driver’s license to buy products and goods tax-free, owners of a vehicle must have a Washington driver’s license in order to license the vehicle. While the law is on the state’s books, its enforcement was recently cut by the governor as a way to help deal with the monumental revenue crisis.