Can anyone elaborate on the Montana LLC process Top mentioned There are no shortage of warning threads about states cracking down. A quick search on the Google immediately inundates with advertisements, information, and misinformation about the topic with limited specifics. Ultimately I would like the car titled here to avoid any challenging conversations when the inevitable confrontation with a law enforcement about why the vehicle isn't registered here when I have a local address and driver's license. Illinois law states you have 20 days from date of purchase to register.
Exerpt from one article... perhaps relevant to our californian OP...
"Tips to California’s
CHEATERS (Californians Help Eliminate All The Evasive Registration Scofflaws) program brought in $3.2 million over a two-year period. The California Highway Patrol estimates that the state is “losing $10 million a year in revenue from drivers who fail to properly register their vehicles.”
The moral
If you live in a state with a sales tax, it’s against the law to avoid paying sales or use tax on taxable goods that will be consumed, used, or stored in your home state. And yes, that generally includes RVs that will spend much of their time on the road and parked in campgrounds in other states."
While I don't agree with the moral above, as if you can own it on your private property without registering at all, how can it be illegal to register it in Montana? Where the line is crossed is when your are driving it on public roads in your state that are regulated. Nevada has enacted a law that sales tax on vehicles will be increased by 50% if you are found to not have registered your vehicle in a certain period of time. So what happens when you get pulled over 4 months apart and they assume you guilty of tax evasion and send you a fine? Hire an attorney and spend tens of thousands of dollars trying to defend yourself on the legality of your scheme? And even if you're an attorney, what is the opportunity cost of your time?
I, too, am trying to find a way to avoid paying sales tax and am having a conversation with a Montana attorney tomorrow. Ultimately I do want the car registered in my state (Illinois) without having to pay $40,000 in taxes to the state for the privilege. Private vehicle sales in Illinois are only taxed at $1,500, so a number of strategies seem to present themselves. (Find a friend in Montana to actually purchase and register the vehicle, with my funds, then sell it to me after a period of time, among other strategies). Challenges include gift taxes, as now we're potentially dealing with the IRS and my state coming after me.
I'm not a risk averse person, just wanting to make sure the strategy is sound before blindly jumping in. All thoughtful responses welcome.
