Owners of certain vehicles hit hard, too, by new TFA

Published 11:00 am Wednesday, July 1, 2015

The new Transportation Funding Act, which goes into the effect today, affects some motorists more than just at the gas tank. It all depends on the type of vehicle you own.

It’s going to cost owners of electronic vehicles, as well as hybrid vehicles, more money in taxes.

Baldwin County Tax Commissioner Cathy Freeman Settle said Tuesday that she believes few residents know about the new law simply because it is one of the newest laws on the books in Georgia.

“Inquiries from local residents have been few,” Settle said in reference to questions emailed by The Union-Recorder about the subject.

Even so, like many other counties across the state, her office, too, has encountered a variety of problems related to the new law, which was passed by the Georgia General Assembly during its session earlier this year.

Settle said one of those problems concerns the Gross Vehicle Weight Ratings.

“The Motor Vehicle Division has uploaded some of the GVWR’s in their database to determine if the Highway Impact Fee applies to that particular vehicle,” Settle said. “However, there are many GVWR’s that our office has to manually look up, and enter them on a one-by-one basis as the customer comes into the office to renew their tag.”

She also explained that the pre-bills mailed out by the MVD for those with birthdays did not include the new Highway Impact Fee nor the regular tag fee, thus they are showing zero dollars due.

“We are having to contact these vehicle owners one-by-one to complete their information,” Settle said.

In addition, she pointed out that pre-bills mailed out for those with July birthdays by the MVD included $200 and $300 Alternative Fuel Vehicle Registration and Renewal Fee, even though it may not be due.

“We have to contact the vehicle owner, personally, and determine if the vehicle uses gasoline also,” Settle said. “If it does, the fees do not apply.”

Settle said her office was as prepared as could be, considering the short notice on the new law.

“We were initially informed that the Transportation Funding Act would have an impact on our offices at a training session in May,” she said. “Details have slowly been released to the MVD from the governor’s office. The MVD has been working, tirelessly, to make the necessary programming changes in order for the county tag offices to be able to collect these fees, effective July 1.”

She added that they are giving it their best attempt to implement the new law as seamlessly as possible, given the limited amount of notice and training that they have had before the law was enacted.