If Tiverton were to match the median effective motor vehicle tax rate in the state (accounting for different exemption amounts), it would generate less than $900,000, which is less than 2.5% of the levy. A more important observation is that the motor vehicle tax is a relatively small tax. “There are plenty of opportunities to lower residential property taxes,” he writes, implying that raising the motor vehicle tax might be one of them.įor the sake of clarity, I’ll merely correct Silvia’s omission of the fact that Portsmouth and Richmond assess motor vehicles at a discount that would effectively move their rates below that of Tiverton. Leading the charge on this campaign has been Michael Silvia, with his latest effort being to promote Tiverton’s “generous” tax exemption and low rate on motor vehicles. Given the effectiveness that the Tiverton Taxpayers Association has had simply by informing residents about comparative tax rates in Tiverton and neighboring towns, the task of those who want their neighbors to pay higher taxes has been to argue that taxpayers shouldn’t believe their own lying eyes, because our taxes aren’t all that high.
