[John Mercier]

Originally Posted by jeffk

I just realized this is exactly how car registrations are structured. The more expensive the car, the higher the registration cost. Yet, expensive cars have no impact on the cost to support vehicle traffic. They don't wear out the roads faster or require special stop signs or extra lanes to be built for roads.

Nor are those costs necessarily based on income. I, on a retirement income, might buy a car once every 20 years and save up a bit each year to buy a nice (expensive) one. Another, well off person, might buy a modest car every 5 years. Yet, I will, forever, pay a higher registration fee.

Why charge more? Because the state ALWAYS needs more money. NH is the king of nickel & dime taxes because they want to say they don't have an income tax. This 1580 tax goes well beyond dimes and you can be certain the money would get gobbled up for new initiatives and the legislators would soon be back at the trough in "need" of more. The only way to control spending is to control the taxes coming in.

The variable portion of a vehicle registration does not go to the State; it remains with the municipality as a property tax.