Border scofflaws headed for a fall comeuppance

LEBANON - After almost a year of fine-tuning, Lebanon’s crackdown on town residents who register their cars in New Hampshire is getting into gear.

It has been estimated that some 300-400 cars in Lebanon driveways this morning are illegally registered in New Hampshire.

They do it, mostly to avoid having to buy auto insurance.

This fall, soon after Lebanon’s summer visitors return to their year-round residences, the crackdown will begin.

It’s called a “Zero Tolerance Policy.” 

Unveiled Monday by Selectmen Chair Karen Gerrish, the policy indicates violators “will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

By law, “residents of the state of Maine who own or lease vehicles must, within 30 days of establishing residency, register such vehicles in their respective municipality.”

The implications of being caught are far-ranging, including tax fraud charges by the state of Maine and criminal charges from New Hampshire where it is a felony to use the wrong address to register a vehicle.

Officials will also be cross-referencing suspected scofflaws with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries to see if they have purchased a Maine resident fishing or hunting license using a Maine driver’s license.

New Hampshire drivers are not compelled to buy vehicle insurance, and many are posing as New Hampshire residents to not only avoid insurance premiums but also to avoid paying Maine state income tax.

New Hampshire has no income tax.

When they purchase the car they also avoid paying the sales tax when they register it in the Granite State.

A major hurdle to the implementation of the new policy was the training and certification of a deputy to do such investigative and prosecutorial work. The funding of the deputy was also an obstacle.

Both have been solved. The deputy is now fully certified after taking numerous courses, Lebanon voters approved funding for his position in June.

Gerrish said it doesn’t make sense to start enforcing the policy while many summer residents are still enjoying their vacation time in Lebanon. Plus, she’d be happy to see more compliance before aggressive enforcement begins sometime this fall, most likely October.

Once the crackdown begins and a violator is summonsed the fine is $911 a day until they properly register their car in Maine, which they would also need auto insurance to do.

Then the town would collect any excise tax due, and the state of Maine could investigate the individuals for taxes owed.

Excise taxes collected stay with the town, and the approximately $120,000 that would likely be collected if suspected vehicles were properly registered in Maine would go a long way to helping the town’s budget and taxpayers who are paying extra taxes because of violators’ deceit.