Montana LLC Vehicle Registration - News Update
"In Anaconda commissioners unanimously approved a proposed lease agreement for a new airport hanger at Bowman Field."
"Willing will build a ten thousand square foot hanger. The Chief Executive's office says the project would bring in more revenue for the county."
"Here's the breakdown:
- 90% of the registration fee for an airplane would go to the county
- 22 airplanes are ready to be registered
- A projected 50 planes for next year
- The cost to register ranges anywhere from $25 to $1,000"
Montana's News Station - 3/13/2008
"Montana-registered vehicles don't need annual inspections, and buying a vehicle through a Montana company avoids a sales tax because the state has none, said Michael Willing, owner of Deer Creek Corporate Services in Helena, Mont."
"The company, located on Last Chance Gulch in the state capital, offers out-of-state customers the chance to set up their own Montana-based companies in order to save money when buying a vehicle. They've helped customers register RVs, cars, helicopters, planes and other vehicles."
"'Most people are doing this because they don't want to pay sales tax,' said Willing, whose company belongs to the local Better Business Bureau."
"Once the LLC is established, a customer can purchase a vehicle on behalf of that organization in their home state. Because the LLC is bound by Montana law, and the vehicle legally belongs to that LLC, a customer's home state can't charge sales tax on the purchase, said Willing, whose company can also file the paperwork for a Montana registration and plates."
MetroWest Daily News - 1/26/08
"[California residents] will once again be able to avoid paying sales tax if they keep those items out of the state for just 90 days after purchase. That's how the law worked before 2004, when lawmakers closed what most considered a loophole by requiring state residents to keep those pricey purchases out of the state for a year to receive a sales tax exemption."
"A $350,000 motor home bought in California would include more than $30,000 in registration fees and taxes. The same motor home bought in Montana would cost less than $300 a year to register, according to the Montana Department of Motor Vehicles. And there would be no sales tax."
"'We get quite a few buyers who want to build an LLC,' Murray said. 'It's very simple. It's very legal.'"
"'I was skeptical,' said Mr. Reid, a retired elementary school principal. "I've seen different kinds of tax dodges and things. But the more I read about it, I learned it was entirely legal."
"But in Montana, the buyers' names are not disclosed, and limited liability corporation requirements are few. 'It's legal,' said Brenda Nordlund, assistant attorney general for the Montana Department of Justice. 'It's a policy choice we've made.'"
"Montana's law is perfectly legal, said Walter Hellerstein, a law professor at the University of Georgia and an expert on the state taxation of interstate commerce. 'It's not fraud to play whatever games the law allows you,' Mr. Hellerstein said."
