Here's yet another.... Went to DMV to be informed That I had to go to Litchfield to settle 1997 car tax last week. I have all receipts on my taxes since 1993. Litchfield did'nt care to look at receipts or had any reason to give me for owing 216.00 in taxes along with 384.00 in interest. I paid taxes till July 1997 to litchfield. I moved to SC in 1996 and paid taxes in SC 1996-1999 and moved back to patheticut in 1999 and just paid taxes in Jan. have every receipt to prove it. Ive even been able to register my car till now. Litchfield showed only a returned tax bill from 1997 that they mailed in 1998. I called FOX news who told me to call Attorney General Blumenthal and was told not to pay and that Im one in over 300 calls they received. Today I sent out copies of all receipts since 1993, car insurance and current registration, copie of need for new registration a cover letter and all the post from this web site. I have 2 weeks of time to see what Attorney General has to say. Then FOX and WPLR would like the story. After that....does'nt much matter. I'll be living in another state since I planned on moving anyway. No sweat off my back if Im not "allowed" back in CT for four years.
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Unfair CT car tax lien
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vangothelaw
New Member
I e-mailed the Attorney General of CT and got this response:
I am in receipt of your letter concerning a property tax bill from the city of Danbury for taxes owed.
The Attorney General's Office does not have authority over the municipal collection of property taxes. Recently, many municipalities have begun aggressively collecting past due motor vehicle taxes by sending such taxes to a private collection agency. Some uncollected taxes resulted from the taxpayer moving from the town between October 1 when the Grand List was established and the following June when the tax bills based on that grand list were mailed. A municipality may collect delinquent taxes for 15 years after the property tax is due.
While it may seem unfair, current state law does not require municipalities to prove actual receipt of the tax bill, nor to follow up with a late notice. The towns do not have the authority to waive interest and penalties on delinquent taxes unless the taxpayer can prove inability to pay.
I understand your frustration but regret that I cannot be of direct assistance to you. I hope you are able to resolve this issue soon.
Very truly yours,
Richard Blumenthal
ATTORNEY GENERAL
I sent him a second e-mail and here is his response:
There is legislation currently pending before the General Assembly -- which I have supported -- that would restrict the ability of a municipality to charge interest after 3 years if they don't have proof that the taxpayer received notice of the outstanding bill. Although it is uncertain whether the legislation will pass, it is clear that the legislature is concerned about the current practice.
Sincerely,
Richard Blumenthal
ATTORNEY GENERAL
I am in receipt of your letter concerning a property tax bill from the city of Danbury for taxes owed.
The Attorney General's Office does not have authority over the municipal collection of property taxes. Recently, many municipalities have begun aggressively collecting past due motor vehicle taxes by sending such taxes to a private collection agency. Some uncollected taxes resulted from the taxpayer moving from the town between October 1 when the Grand List was established and the following June when the tax bills based on that grand list were mailed. A municipality may collect delinquent taxes for 15 years after the property tax is due.
While it may seem unfair, current state law does not require municipalities to prove actual receipt of the tax bill, nor to follow up with a late notice. The towns do not have the authority to waive interest and penalties on delinquent taxes unless the taxpayer can prove inability to pay.
I understand your frustration but regret that I cannot be of direct assistance to you. I hope you are able to resolve this issue soon.
Very truly yours,
Richard Blumenthal
ATTORNEY GENERAL
I sent him a second e-mail and here is his response:
There is legislation currently pending before the General Assembly -- which I have supported -- that would restrict the ability of a municipality to charge interest after 3 years if they don't have proof that the taxpayer received notice of the outstanding bill. Although it is uncertain whether the legislation will pass, it is clear that the legislature is concerned about the current practice.
Sincerely,
Richard Blumenthal
ATTORNEY GENERAL
I'm in the same fix. I just received two letters saying I owe vehicle tax from the years 1993 and 1994, for a total of $801.62. I did live in Hartford for about a year, then lived in New Britain for a short time. I moved to Massachusetts in 1995. This is a huge expense for me. If anyone has any advice it will be greatly appreciated.
Call the CT Attorney General. Yes, I was informed there IS a lawsuit going on. I am on the list. Yes I DID have to pay decade old taxes in order to register my car. The New York Times on Jan. 15 2006..."Tax Bills Can Outlast the Vehicles Being Taxed" There are over 10 pages on this site about car tax liens. VERY useful info. If your car is registered till Aug you will be fine because the statue if limitations IS 15 years. Good luck and definately contact The Attorney General Office.
CTcar tax
Hi,
I guess I am in the same "pot" as the rest of you on this post... About a year ago I received a letter from Tax serv stating that I owe $600 (or so) i taxes for 2002 car tax.
I moved out of CT in 02, so it might have been legit since I do not keep any records for more than 3 years (does anybody?!). I figured it was a scam and ignored it until now - I just got a notice from City of Hartford stating that an "alias tax warrant has been issued" and that I now own $849 in taxes and fees. It also states that if I do not respond within 15 days the warrant will be delivered to proper authorities for enforcement.
Now for a person that has never been late on one freaking payment EVER this comes as a shock and sends me into a panic mode which I am sure is exactly their intention...
Bur seriously - what can they do if I do not pay this?! Are they going to arrest me or something?
I've read all other posts in here and it seems like it gets just worse if you pay.... I do not live (or will ever again) in CT so I could care lees about registering a car in CT.
Did anybody else receive a similar letter?
Hi,
I guess I am in the same "pot" as the rest of you on this post... About a year ago I received a letter from Tax serv stating that I owe $600 (or so) i taxes for 2002 car tax.
I moved out of CT in 02, so it might have been legit since I do not keep any records for more than 3 years (does anybody?!). I figured it was a scam and ignored it until now - I just got a notice from City of Hartford stating that an "alias tax warrant has been issued" and that I now own $849 in taxes and fees. It also states that if I do not respond within 15 days the warrant will be delivered to proper authorities for enforcement.
Now for a person that has never been late on one freaking payment EVER this comes as a shock and sends me into a panic mode which I am sure is exactly their intention...
Bur seriously - what can they do if I do not pay this?! Are they going to arrest me or something?
I've read all other posts in here and it seems like it gets just worse if you pay.... I do not live (or will ever again) in CT so I could care lees about registering a car in CT.
Did anybody else receive a similar letter?
alexismarie1999
New Member
same here please tell me
i got one today I moved from connecticut dec 31 2005 and got a letter from the city sheriff it says RE; Warrant
the tax collector has issued a alias warrant in your name . this letter is sent to you as a courtesty. I suggest you contact the undersigned imediatly to address this matter . it says a copy of the warrant will be sent to my local sheffifs and county. now i live in Michigan . can they actually do this? does this mean they will arrest me? Michigan has no property taxes.
I cant imagine oweing them anything and i also never plan on moving back to connecticut . so what exactly can they do? does anyone know. Dam my ex owed them for over like 10 years and he never got a notice we lived in south dakota then? this is the first time i heard of such a thing. can anyone explain
i got one today I moved from connecticut dec 31 2005 and got a letter from the city sheriff it says RE; Warrant
the tax collector has issued a alias warrant in your name . this letter is sent to you as a courtesty. I suggest you contact the undersigned imediatly to address this matter . it says a copy of the warrant will be sent to my local sheffifs and county. now i live in Michigan . can they actually do this? does this mean they will arrest me? Michigan has no property taxes.
I cant imagine oweing them anything and i also never plan on moving back to connecticut . so what exactly can they do? does anyone know. Dam my ex owed them for over like 10 years and he never got a notice we lived in south dakota then? this is the first time i heard of such a thing. can anyone explain
CT Tax from 1993
Two days ago (4/18/09) I received a tax delinquency notice from Newtown, CT for the two cars I owned in 1993. I moved out of CT in Jan 1992 to Ohio and been here simce. Never knew about this tax until last Saturday. So more than 15 years have past since the tax year in question and I was not even a CT resident then. Can anyone tell me if the statue of limitations (15 years I think) applies and so Newtown cannot pursue this false claim?
Two days ago (4/18/09) I received a tax delinquency notice from Newtown, CT for the two cars I owned in 1993. I moved out of CT in Jan 1992 to Ohio and been here simce. Never knew about this tax until last Saturday. So more than 15 years have past since the tax year in question and I was not even a CT resident then. Can anyone tell me if the statue of limitations (15 years I think) applies and so Newtown cannot pursue this false claim?
$1400 here....
My case is even worse. The taxes they claim in the first place are incorrect since I returned the plates to the DMV, but they did not know about it.
And they say that they cannot fix the taxes due because it is 2+ years, so even if they made a mistake, I m stuck. I should have let them know 5 years ago that they did a mistake 7 years ago.
I now have a warrant in my name for $1400. Did anyone on this forum not pay those taxes ? What happened ? Is there a way out ?
What happened to the class action suit ? What about the law to limit interest to 3 years ?
Thanks,
My case is even worse. The taxes they claim in the first place are incorrect since I returned the plates to the DMV, but they did not know about it.
And they say that they cannot fix the taxes due because it is 2+ years, so even if they made a mistake, I m stuck. I should have let them know 5 years ago that they did a mistake 7 years ago.
I now have a warrant in my name for $1400. Did anyone on this forum not pay those taxes ? What happened ? Is there a way out ?
What happened to the class action suit ? What about the law to limit interest to 3 years ?
Thanks,
There is no way the State of Connecticut issued a bench warrant for unpaid taxes.
If they had ANY evidence and could actually locate you, they would attempt to garnish your wages.
Collection agencies often operate outside of the law .
Unfortunately, State governments do as well.
If they had ANY evidence and could actually locate you, they would attempt to garnish your wages.
Collection agencies often operate outside of the law .
Unfortunately, State governments do as well.
car tax bill
My story is similar to the others. Just received a letter from a collection agency saying I owe back car taxes for $921.99. I moved out of state in OCT. 2005 and registered my car in Nov. 2005 in another state. They claim I owe a bill from 07-2006 which I never received. I never received anything for 4 years and now they want interest and fees. This doesn't seem right to me. Seems like the same story over and over. Have any laws been changed for car taxes in CT. Where is the class action? I would like to join. I think their system has a major flaw. Here we pay our car taxes when we register our vehicle not JUly to July for 1 year. We are always current on taxes if our vehicle is registered. I have never been late on any bills that I have knowledge of. How does this affect our credit rating?
My story is similar to the others. Just received a letter from a collection agency saying I owe back car taxes for $921.99. I moved out of state in OCT. 2005 and registered my car in Nov. 2005 in another state. They claim I owe a bill from 07-2006 which I never received. I never received anything for 4 years and now they want interest and fees. This doesn't seem right to me. Seems like the same story over and over. Have any laws been changed for car taxes in CT. Where is the class action? I would like to join. I think their system has a major flaw. Here we pay our car taxes when we register our vehicle not JUly to July for 1 year. We are always current on taxes if our vehicle is registered. I have never been late on any bills that I have knowledge of. How does this affect our credit rating?
Candee, I am just a reader reader like you, not a lawyer or anything.
The property tax year in connecticut towns is oct 1 to sept 30, with taxes owed the following July.
Since you moved in november 2005, you would only owe taxes on a month and some days. Payment was due in July 2006.
I hope you can get this cleared up with the town. My worry for you is whether there is a deadline for opposing the tax. But it is worth trying to fight the tax for the whole year, rather than a month or so that you owe.
Under connecticut law, municipalities expect payment of taxes whether or not a bill was received by the taxpayer.
If it is not too late to overturn this tax bill, if I were in your shoes, I would start with a certified letter to the town with copies enclosed showing proof of residency in the other state with date. Voter registration, car registration with date, that stuff.
You might be able to get the thing taken care of right there, maybe just owing taxes for Oct and part of Nov 2005 plus interest. Big If though.
I hope that you have time under the law, because if so, that proof should do it. Call the tax assessor in the town you used to live in and ask. Of course, they may lie, but they may just reissue a more accurate tax assessment for you.
If the time has run out for you to challenge it, all I can say, is you have a legal issue. I think it should be a good legal issue because the property tax law is unfair , no notices need be sent by them etc. , but seems like that would be an expensive headache to deal with.
If the time has run out, tell me, why would they have 15 years to collect and you have, what, a minute to challenge a mistake? If that is the case, the law is really unfair.
The property tax year in connecticut towns is oct 1 to sept 30, with taxes owed the following July.
Since you moved in november 2005, you would only owe taxes on a month and some days. Payment was due in July 2006.
I hope you can get this cleared up with the town. My worry for you is whether there is a deadline for opposing the tax. But it is worth trying to fight the tax for the whole year, rather than a month or so that you owe.
Under connecticut law, municipalities expect payment of taxes whether or not a bill was received by the taxpayer.
If it is not too late to overturn this tax bill, if I were in your shoes, I would start with a certified letter to the town with copies enclosed showing proof of residency in the other state with date. Voter registration, car registration with date, that stuff.
You might be able to get the thing taken care of right there, maybe just owing taxes for Oct and part of Nov 2005 plus interest. Big If though.
I hope that you have time under the law, because if so, that proof should do it. Call the tax assessor in the town you used to live in and ask. Of course, they may lie, but they may just reissue a more accurate tax assessment for you.
If the time has run out for you to challenge it, all I can say, is you have a legal issue. I think it should be a good legal issue because the property tax law is unfair , no notices need be sent by them etc. , but seems like that would be an expensive headache to deal with.
If the time has run out, tell me, why would they have 15 years to collect and you have, what, a minute to challenge a mistake? If that is the case, the law is really unfair.
car tax bill
Thank you for your response. I was not aware of the time frame of Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. The bill came from a collection agency so I did send a letter back to them. I'm keeping all records of this issue. They sent me a letter back with the town of Bristol generic requests to erase a bill. It does not address moving out of state exactly. It wants a copy of my current driver's license and registration which doesn't make sense since this issue deals with 2005-2006. Thank you for your suggestion to call the tax assessor office. I would think I would need copies of 2005 registration and and taxes paid. I would have to try to get copies since I don't have the original forms now. In NE you pay your taxes when you register your vehicle which makes more sense to me. I am not happy that this is coming from a collections agency. I have never been behind in any bills in 54 years. This looks to be a time consuming process. I will keep on it. Thank you again.
Thank you for your response. I was not aware of the time frame of Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. The bill came from a collection agency so I did send a letter back to them. I'm keeping all records of this issue. They sent me a letter back with the town of Bristol generic requests to erase a bill. It does not address moving out of state exactly. It wants a copy of my current driver's license and registration which doesn't make sense since this issue deals with 2005-2006. Thank you for your suggestion to call the tax assessor office. I would think I would need copies of 2005 registration and and taxes paid. I would have to try to get copies since I don't have the original forms now. In NE you pay your taxes when you register your vehicle which makes more sense to me. I am not happy that this is coming from a collections agency. I have never been behind in any bills in 54 years. This looks to be a time consuming process. I will keep on it. Thank you again.
So this thread has been going on for a couple of years. And nobody seems to be able to answer the question: "What can they really do to you?".
How did this work out for people who posted back in 2008? Did you pay? Did you sue them? Did you settle?
I just got a bill from Bridgeport for 2003. And would like to know the course of action. Should I just ignore them? Call the assessor and try to negotiate?
How did this work out for people who posted back in 2008? Did you pay? Did you sue them? Did you settle?
I just got a bill from Bridgeport for 2003. And would like to know the course of action. Should I just ignore them? Call the assessor and try to negotiate?
Unfair Ct Auto Tax
I have owned a home in Ct. for a few years but this home has not been my full time
legal residence until 5 months ago. Before this I was a legal N.Y. resident. This Ct.
home was an investment property which was rented out and sometimes used for
sporatic weekend use. I recently received a tax notice from this Ct. town saying that I owe taxes plus penalties on my auto from 2009. The town wants N.Y. repair receipts
on this auto to indicate that my auto did not stay or return most frequently to CT! I
told the assessor that I do not have repair receipts due to the fact that the auto is new. Even if I did repair my car I usually only pay for things in cash. I have shown the
town assessor that I have paid N.Y. insurance rates and taxes but still claims that I
owe this Ct. town tax money on this car. So, here I am, paying N.Y. taxes plus Ct.
wanting their taxes unfairly . There is no one to turn to. Any suggestions out there?
I have owned a home in Ct. for a few years but this home has not been my full time
legal residence until 5 months ago. Before this I was a legal N.Y. resident. This Ct.
home was an investment property which was rented out and sometimes used for
sporatic weekend use. I recently received a tax notice from this Ct. town saying that I owe taxes plus penalties on my auto from 2009. The town wants N.Y. repair receipts
on this auto to indicate that my auto did not stay or return most frequently to CT! I
told the assessor that I do not have repair receipts due to the fact that the auto is new. Even if I did repair my car I usually only pay for things in cash. I have shown the
town assessor that I have paid N.Y. insurance rates and taxes but still claims that I
owe this Ct. town tax money on this car. So, here I am, paying N.Y. taxes plus Ct.
wanting their taxes unfairly . There is no one to turn to. Any suggestions out there?
Where did you register to vote?
If you have a copy of your voter registration card, that WILL suffice as proof of your residency.
However, you'll likely need an attorney to handle this.
Connecticut is a terribly mismanaged State.
The size of the state budget for the number of residents is offensive.
That same kind of thing translates to every municipality.
CT Strikes Again
Seems amazing the number of problems people have with CT. I received one of those pesky collection agency letters alleging back vehicle taxes for the city of Bristol for the tax year 2002-2003 on a vehicle I didn't own. On top of that, I was active duty military stationed in Virginia which, by CT law, exempted me from property taxes as long as I was living out of state. Bypassing te collection agency since their demand of, "just pay it" wasn't a solution, I contacted the city of Bristol assessor. Even after telling the story of trading in the vehicle and returning the plates to the state DMV back in 2002 (I still have the UPS receipt confirming delivery and signature), I still have to provide proof that I traded the vehicle in prior to the assessment date as, get this, the state DMV has NO record of the plates being returned and of course the person who originally signed for the delivery no longer works for the DMV.
The city of Bristol also refused to accept a military DD-214 proving service which has always been a failsafe document. Now, granted I moved a lot but I always put in changes of address and CT sent me my registration renewals (including to my address in Virginia in 2002) and license renewals so how is it the city never sent a notice and are claiming "lack of address"?
It is going to cost nearly $70 to get the paperwork to them that will prove I didn't own the vehicle and that the plates were returned according to CT law..what I want to know is who is going to reimburse me for the cost of having to prove I don't owe taxes on a vehicle I didn't even own and on which taxes should have never been assessed? The original base assessment (without the 9 YEARS of penalties and interest) was a grand total of $87.68.
I also want to know why I am being held responsible for Connecticut's very faulty processes.
Seems amazing the number of problems people have with CT. I received one of those pesky collection agency letters alleging back vehicle taxes for the city of Bristol for the tax year 2002-2003 on a vehicle I didn't own. On top of that, I was active duty military stationed in Virginia which, by CT law, exempted me from property taxes as long as I was living out of state. Bypassing te collection agency since their demand of, "just pay it" wasn't a solution, I contacted the city of Bristol assessor. Even after telling the story of trading in the vehicle and returning the plates to the state DMV back in 2002 (I still have the UPS receipt confirming delivery and signature), I still have to provide proof that I traded the vehicle in prior to the assessment date as, get this, the state DMV has NO record of the plates being returned and of course the person who originally signed for the delivery no longer works for the DMV.
The city of Bristol also refused to accept a military DD-214 proving service which has always been a failsafe document. Now, granted I moved a lot but I always put in changes of address and CT sent me my registration renewals (including to my address in Virginia in 2002) and license renewals so how is it the city never sent a notice and are claiming "lack of address"?
It is going to cost nearly $70 to get the paperwork to them that will prove I didn't own the vehicle and that the plates were returned according to CT law..what I want to know is who is going to reimburse me for the cost of having to prove I don't owe taxes on a vehicle I didn't even own and on which taxes should have never been assessed? The original base assessment (without the 9 YEARS of penalties and interest) was a grand total of $87.68.
I also want to know why I am being held responsible for Connecticut's very faulty processes.
Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of my voter reg. card. It is evident that ALOT of folks have had alot of problems with
the Ct. vehicle tax. Seems they are just trying to steal peoples money legally. We all can't be lying about not owing this
vehicle tax. So, if I get an attorney it's going to cost me big bucks...Ct. probably figures that all us folks will just
"pay up" rather than spend this money on legal representation. Pathetic!
the Ct. vehicle tax. Seems they are just trying to steal peoples money legally. We all can't be lying about not owing this
vehicle tax. So, if I get an attorney it's going to cost me big bucks...Ct. probably figures that all us folks will just
"pay up" rather than spend this money on legal representation. Pathetic!
I'm in the same fix as everyone else. I moved out of Waterbury, CT state in 98 and letter saying I owe vehicle tax for 10 years which includes the interest. I did live in Waterbury for about a year, then lived out of CT since then. This is a huge expense for me. I have always payed my taxes on time. Were any of the previous mailers on list successful in explaining to the Tax assessor? If anyone has any advice it will be greatly appreciated.
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