Vehicle registration enforcement nets $800,000 for state
Nebraska counties have collected more than $853,000 in taxes and fees from 2,518 residents who had their vehicles illegally registered in other states.
The collections were a response to 10,200 letters the state sent to Nebraskans believed to have registered vehicles illegally in Iowa or South Dakota.
The state is focusing efforts on the “pervasive and widespread practice of circumventing Nebraska taxes and fees,” said Col. Bryan Tuma, superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol.
Many on the list had bought high-priced vehicles or motor homes and registered them in neighboring states with lower taxes and fees, said Beverly Neth, director of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
In one case, owners of a 2007 Fiesta motor home owed the state $6,602 in sales tax and more than $1,900 for two years’ worth of fees and other taxes, Neth said.
Another owner owed more than $26,000 in taxes and fees on two RVs.
The state departments of Motor Vehicles and Revenue estimate $11 million in taxes and fees is lost each year by people who register vehicles illegally in other states.
To find alleged violators, Nebraska motor vehicles staff matched Social Security numbers on Iowa and South Dakota registration databases with driver’s license information here, Neth said.
Tuma and Neth said about 2,075 of the letters sent out were returned as undeliverable; 2,096 letters based on Iowa registrations and 422 were based on South Dakota registrations were in error, or there was a legitimate reason for the situation.
Some errors related to incorrect Social Security numbers in Iowa’s database. But a few of the people who were sent letters were people whose Social Security numbers were being used by someone else, said Neth.
She encouraged anyone who received a letter where there was a Social Security error to contact the Iowa Department of Transportation at (515) 237-3110 or ovsmail@dot.iowa.gov.
Now, the Nebraska patrol will focus on 3,800 Nebraskans whose names remain on the list of potential law violators.
In determining what cases to pursue, the patrol will consider such factors as owning multiple vehicles, duration of registration elsewhere, the dollar amount and past criminal activity, Tuma said.
The agencies are considering similar searches with other states in which Nebraskans may be illegally registering vehicles.
South Dakota has no residency requirement for vehicle registration, but people who registered cars and trucks in Iowa had to give false addresses to do so, Neth said.
Anyone who lives in Nebraska for 30 days or more is required to register and license their vehicles here, state Tax Commissioner Doug Ewald said. Nonresidents who work in the state are also required to register vehicles here.
Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.
The collections were a response to 10,200 letters the state sent to Nebraskans believed to have registered vehicles illegally in Iowa or South Dakota.
The state is focusing efforts on the “pervasive and widespread practice of circumventing Nebraska taxes and fees,” said Col. Bryan Tuma, superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol.
Many on the list had bought high-priced vehicles or motor homes and registered them in neighboring states with lower taxes and fees, said Beverly Neth, director of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
In one case, owners of a 2007 Fiesta motor home owed the state $6,602 in sales tax and more than $1,900 for two years’ worth of fees and other taxes, Neth said.
Another owner owed more than $26,000 in taxes and fees on two RVs.
The state departments of Motor Vehicles and Revenue estimate $11 million in taxes and fees is lost each year by people who register vehicles illegally in other states.
To find alleged violators, Nebraska motor vehicles staff matched Social Security numbers on Iowa and South Dakota registration databases with driver’s license information here, Neth said.
Tuma and Neth said about 2,075 of the letters sent out were returned as undeliverable; 2,096 letters based on Iowa registrations and 422 were based on South Dakota registrations were in error, or there was a legitimate reason for the situation.
Some errors related to incorrect Social Security numbers in Iowa’s database. But a few of the people who were sent letters were people whose Social Security numbers were being used by someone else, said Neth.
She encouraged anyone who received a letter where there was a Social Security error to contact the Iowa Department of Transportation at (515) 237-3110 or ovsmail@dot.iowa.gov.
Now, the Nebraska patrol will focus on 3,800 Nebraskans whose names remain on the list of potential law violators.
In determining what cases to pursue, the patrol will consider such factors as owning multiple vehicles, duration of registration elsewhere, the dollar amount and past criminal activity, Tuma said.
The agencies are considering similar searches with other states in which Nebraskans may be illegally registering vehicles.
South Dakota has no residency requirement for vehicle registration, but people who registered cars and trucks in Iowa had to give false addresses to do so, Neth said.
Anyone who lives in Nebraska for 30 days or more is required to register and license their vehicles here, state Tax Commissioner Doug Ewald said. Nonresidents who work in the state are also required to register vehicles here.
Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.
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