Some Iowa MH owners facing big tax problems.

Wow - great article. If I was a resident of Iowa who'd registered my RV in Montana, I'd be real worried right now. I'd have to consider moving or paying up.

Welcome to the "Police State"....

"Stepped-up enforcement will continue this fall, Steier said, and DOT investigators will be on the lookout at University of Iowa and Iowa State University football games for motor homes with Montana license plates. Local law enforcement officers have also been asked to report suspected violators to the DOT, he added."

so much for those threads where folks here say that a LLC in montana is totally legal.
bumpy

Bumpyroad wrote:
so much for those threads where folks here say that a LLC in montana is totally legal.
bumpy

Should be no surprise. I would like to think that those using a corporate structure to shield personal assets from liabilities of a for profit entity were made aware of the risks and "grey" area they were playing in.

Bumpyroad wrote:
so much for those threads where folks here say that a LLC in montana is totally legal.
bumpy

It still is, really. The big 'catch' is, like said so many other times this subject was discussed, you have to abide by the state laws where you reside, also. In this case, Iowa, the law states, as noted in the article:

...The law provides that if a vehicle registered in another state is in Iowa annually for more than 90 days and is operated by an Iowa resident during that time, it is not considered to be in the state temporarily.

Soooo, as long as you keep your Montana LLC registered RV out of Iowa all but 90 days of the year, and you can provide proof of such...Welll, you aren't violating any Iowa law, and they got nothng on you.

Granted, abiding by that law makes the whole Montana LLC thing not worth it for many folks, which is exactly what they want to do.

Unless....You lived close to a state border, could store the RV when not in use in another neighboring state with different laws, and only bring it in state when camping with it, and only camp (in Iowa) 90 days or less a year? ;)

Of course, THEN you'd have to worry about the laws in the state where you're storing the RV, and them eventually cracking down same way Iowa did.

Its a never-ending battle, folks trying to find ways to avoid taxes, and politicians finding ways to stop them and get more taxes.

If the taxes were reasonable, and not 5%, most folks wouldn't care.

Rbertalotto wrote:
If the taxes were reasonable, and not 5%, most folks wouldn't care.

I was thinking that I always paid 4-6% tax on my various vehicles in assorted states.
bumpy

In the state of Az, the law reads that the MH must be out of your procession for 6 mths within, a calendar year. So we have receipts showing our rig was located in Il, NM, etc. So, everyone must read the law and be able to comply with it. I would read what the Ia. law says.

Serves them right, those that skirt the rules in a way that a normal Iowan is unable to. When a person enters an agreement to avoid a tax, others will and do pay, they deserve to be held accountable.

When I went out on the road, I sold all my property and registered my vehicles where I chose to. I didn't go to a tax free state, I could have, but I didn't. I also am not in my originating state more than 30 days, in a calendar year.

Years ago, when I was doing the State's enforcement, we purposely looked for high end vehicles, with Oregon plates. It was not hard to find a reason to pull people over and check out the vehicle, ask questions when they provided in state DLs and Insurance. As is other residency requirements to register their vehicles, SUVs, Sports Cars once moving to a state. If you are there visiting, fine. If you are military, fine. If you are enrolled in an accredited College/University carrying a full time load (12 credit hours a semester) fine. If you give your kid a car and keep it registered in your home state and they are in another, busted, as the vehicle is now in that state, does not matter who owns it, it must be registered in that state.

If I am not mistaken, there are a few states cracking down on large MH with LLC and requiring them to enter and exit the state as Commercial Vehicles and be assessed with the appropriate fees and permits.

So, if you go this route in registering your MH/RV vehicle, or expensive motor vehicles, rest assured there are people out there, your neighbours, mechanics reporting you to the DOT/DMV. Some states provide a reward for doing this. It is not just an Iowa issue, other states are already doing it. If you are not doing it, don't even worry a minute about it.

Maybe the MT LLC is technically only legal in MT.