Random thoughts...

[Ben Staad]

What is a licensing fee? Is that the same as vehicle registration or something different?

It was a pricey car. Plus all the damn extras, and not to mention Tacoma's sweet 10.4% sales tax and $800 licensing fees. I tried to not pay it since it would only be in Washington 14ish days before I left the state, but noooooo.

It didn't seem too expensive when I bought it - but that was also before signing a lease for an apartment and dealing with state income tax for the first time in 20 years.

[Martin]

What is a licensing fee? Is that the same as vehicle registration or something different?

It is the vehicle registration plus a bunch of add on fees. I Washington you register your vehicle annually. The total fee has several factors that contribute to the price. Vehicle age, Vehicle weight, type of vehicle, community you live in (as they charge an amount dedicated to road maintenance). I am sure there are more. If I remember correctly it costs me about $150 a year to license a 2007 Toyota Camry. They did close down the emissions sites though so that saves me $15 every two years. I actually do not have an issue with the cost. Just across the border in Oregon people pay a similar amount but it does not go to road maintenance, they put much of the money into general fund. Washington dedicates auto fees to road expenses. As a result the roads in Vancouver are not the pot hole jungle that Portland has.

[Ben Staad]

Sorry I missed this message. Thanks for the reply. As an FYI here in Florida I pay $48/year for a 2005 Wrangler and slightly less for my wife's Kia.

It is the vehicle registration plus a bunch of add on fees. I Washington you register your vehicle annually. The total fee has several factors that contribute to the price. Vehicle age, Vehicle weight, type of vehicle, community you live in (as they charge an amount dedicated to road maintenance). I am sure there are more. If I remember correctly it costs me about $150 a year to license a 2007 Toyota Camry. They did close down the emissions sites though so that saves me $15 every two years. I actually do not have an issue with the cost. Just across the border in Oregon people pay a similar amount but it does not go to road maintenance, they put much of the money into general fund. Washington dedicates auto fees to road expenses. As a result the roads in Vancouver are not the pot hole jungle that Portland has.

[Ben Staad]

Interesting. Both of the Banks I do business with have their websites down.

It is my understanding servers are crashing due to stimulus checks.

It's funny how many unintended consequences come from the government.

[mulleins]

Interesting. Both of the Banks I do business with have their websites down.

It is my understanding servers are crashing due to stimulus checks.

It's funny how many unintended consequences come from the government.

The sites are crashing not because of the checks being deposited, it's the large number of people going to the servers to check to see if their check arrived. My son-in-law is a VP at a bank is the only reason I know this.

Mulleins

[Martin]

Sorry I missed this message. Thanks for the reply. As an FYI here in Florida I pay $48/year for a 2005 Wrangler and slightly less for my wife's Kia.

Received my renewal in the last couple of weeks. It is actually lower than I remember but here is the breakdown:

$30.00 Licenses fee funds road construction and maintenance projects
$25.00 Vehicle weight fee funds highway improvements, transit, and other transportation needs.
$4.50 Filing fee funds go to the county in which the fee is paid.
$8.00 Service fee retained by subagent, or funds ferry replacement if renewed at County Auditor/DOL.
$0.50 The DOL service fee supports the computer system and reimbursement of county licensing activities.
$0.25 License service fee supports the computer system used to provide licensing services.
$40.00 Transportation Benefit District - Vancouver
$108.25

I have no problem with the amount I am paying. The roads are well maintained. Constant improvements are being made. Near my home we have a busy street with two stoplights that are within 40 feet of each other. They have purchased some businesses and are relocating a street in order to eliminate one of those lights and at the same time widening the entrance lanes to the interstate. State law requires that money used to license vehicles is spent on road projects and who gets the money. Washington also requires gas taxes to go to road and environmental efforts. They also require the tax breakdown be posted on every gas pump. You can see how the Federal and State taxes impact the price you are paying. In Oregon both vehicle and gas taxes can be spent however the state and local governments chose without transparency.

[Ben Staad]

Interesting. I was just going online to pay some bills. Ended up writing a few checks (which I don't often do) and sticking them in the mailbox.

The sites are crashing not because of the checks being deposited, it's the large number of people going to the servers to check to see if their check arrived. My son-in-law is a VP at a bank is the only reason I know this.

Mulleins

[Ben Staad]

I actually have my bill for registration. It provides no breakdown of where the money is to go. $46.10/year for my 2005 vehicle and $36.10/year for my daughters 2009 vehicle. My guess is this money goes directly into the general fund. I think FL sticks a ton of money there so they can use it without much/if any push-back from folks.

Received my renewal in the last couple of weeks. It is actually lower than I remember but here is the breakdown:

$30.00 Licenses fee funds road construction and maintenance projects
$25.00 Vehicle weight fee funds highway improvements, transit, and other transportation needs.
$4.50 Filing fee funds go to the county in which the fee is paid.
$8.00 Service fee retained by subagent, or funds ferry replacement if renewed at County Auditor/DOL.
$0.50 The DOL service fee supports the computer system and reimbursement of county licensing activities.
$0.25 License service fee supports the computer system used to provide licensing services.
$40.00 Transportation Benefit District - Vancouver
$108.25

I have no problem with the amount I am paying. The roads are well maintained. Constant improvements are being made. Near my home we have a busy street with two stoplights that are within 40 feet of each other. They have purchased some businesses and are relocating a street in order to eliminate one of those lights and at the same time widening the entrance lanes to the interstate. State law requires that money used to license vehicles is spent on road projects and who gets the money. Washington also requires gas taxes to go to road and environmental efforts. They also require the tax breakdown be posted on every gas pump. You can see how the Federal and State taxes impact the price you are paying. In Oregon both vehicle and gas taxes can be spent however the state and local governments chose without transparency.

[c marvel]

Interesting. Both of the Banks I do business with have their websites down.

It is my understanding servers are crashing due to stimulus checks.

It's funny how many unintended consequences come from the government.

I got the stimulus check today. One credit union site I clearly can not access until later today, maybe tomorrow. At first, I was puzzled why the stimulus check went into the one credit union acct until I remembered that is the acct I use for my taxes each year. Been an interesting morning, keeping me looking into one thing and than another, but it's a good kind of busy. ~Cap

[c marvel]

Does anyone have a coupon code for Biblio.com that works? Today, I found a reader's copy of a book I want. I would love to get a couple $ off.

Cap

[Brian James Freeman]

Does anyone have a coupon code for Biblio.com that works? Today, I found a reader's copy of a book I want. I would love to get a couple $ off.

Cap

Well, I read that as Bible.com and I was going to make a guess at which book...

[c marvel]

Well, I read that as Bible.com and I was going to make a guess at which book...

lol lol lol It's Biblio.com Brian. You guys keep me in stitches..... ~Cap

[bsaenz24]

Well, I read that as Bible.com and I was going to make a guess at which book...

Now THERE'S a signed limited I would be ALL OVER!!!!!! I want to reserve letter J.

[RonClinton]

Does anyone have a coupon code for Biblio.com that works? Today, I found a reader's copy of a book I want. I would love to get a couple $ off.

Cap

Here you go:

CLEARY10
Save 10% on any order

BEVERLY15
Take 15% off your next order of 3 or more books

RAMONA20
Save 20% on any order with 5 or more books

The Details:
Maximum discount of $25 USD
Copy and paste the code you want to use into the box in the shopping cart
Valid for one use per customer
Expires Friday, April 17 at 23:59 pm EST

[Martin]

I actually have my bill for registration. It provides no breakdown of where the money is to go. $46.10/year for my 2005 vehicle and $36.10/year for my daughters 2009 vehicle. My guess is this money goes directly into the general fund. I think FL sticks a ton of money there so they can use it without much/if any push-back from folks.

I am not sure how it came to be, but the State of Washington generally requires new taxes to be committed to specific uses. They often require the breakdown to be shown to the consumer. I think more states should function in this way.