Senator Young: License Plates, Renewal & Registration Fees to Increase

            ALBANY – New York’s latest fee on license plates is “another blatant money grab by Albany,” according to Senator Catharine Young (R, I, C –Olean). 

The new state mandate will force all registered car owners to obtain new license plates next April - and the cost of the plates will be increased by 66 percent.

“Drivers will be forced to buy a new license plate from the Dept. of Motor Vehicles, whether they need a new one or not, costing $25 per plate,” said Sen. Young.  “The outrageous gimmicks that were passed in Gov. Paterson’s bloated state budget continue to soak families who can’t afford the heavy tax burden.”

  The new plates will cost $25 instead of the current $15 and, if car owners want to keep their same license plate number, they will have to pay an additional $20 fee.  Sen. Young said the fee hikes are expected to collect $130 million from car owners to help fund the state’s spending spree, when spending increased by $13 billion, despite budget shortfalls.

“To add insult to injury, vehicle registrations and license renewal fees also will rise,” she said.

Sen. Young said beginning Sept. 1, it also will cost 25 percent more to register a vehicle or renew a license, creating an additional cost to New York drivers projected to total almost $152 million over the next two years.  The average registration fee will increase to $55 from $44, and the standard eight-year license renewal will cost $62.50, up from $50.

“For Upstate, the use of a car is not a luxury, it’s a necessity,” said Sen. Young. “People depend on their cars to get to work, school, the store, or just to get around.”

“Every month brings a new round of taxes and fees that New York City politicians have forced on the backs of Upstate families, business and seniors,” said Sen. Young. “Last month it was an increase in our utility bills, now its motor vehicle fees, next it will be hunting and fishing licenses. The biggest hit will come this fall when homeowners don’t get their STAR rebates checks to help pay their property taxes.”

Sen. Young said a typical Upstate family of four will have to pay about $2,400 more a year in higher state taxes and fees as a result of this year’s budget. The latest motor vehicles increases and license plate mandate will cost the average Upstate family $200 each year.

“Taxpayers in my district have had enough,” said Sen. Young.  “This is why I strongly opposed and voted against these new wave of taxes, which are lumped in with more than a hundred new taxes.”

Sen. Young said Governor Paterson plans to call the Legislature back next month to deal with a $2.1 billion budget shortfall and she has urged legislative leaders not to include new taxes to deal with the budget gaps.

“Based on their track records, Governor Paterson and downstate leaders could likely pile on new taxes to close this latest budget gap, even though it was created by their irresponsible and unprecedented spending habits,” said Sen. Young.  “If we are going to help struggling families make ends meet and help businesses retain and create jobs, we cannot be thinking about more new taxes.

“Every tax hike makes New York less competitive and puts us further behind other states for economic recovery,” said Sen. Young. “We need to roll back all these destructive taxes and put our energies into providing incentives for families and business to stay in New York.”

On September 1, 2009, the following motor vehicle registration fees will be increased:

> Passenger vehicle registration fees increase from $44 to $55 (two year average depending on vehicle);

> Commercial vehicle registration fees increase from $1.21 (per 500 lbs of vehicle weight) up to $1.51 at the low end of the range and increase from $11.50 to $14.38 (per 500 lbs) at the high end;

> Trailer registration fees will increase from an average of $34 to $42.50;

> Taxi registration fees, on average, will increase from $48 to $60;

> Average bus registration fees will increase from $73 to $91.25;

> Motorcycle registration increases from $14 to $17.50;

> All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) registration increase from $10 to $12.50; and

> Average motorboat registrations will rise from $40 to $50;

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