News Release
November 19, 1997
Contact: Melissa Forsythe or Mark Pfeiffer at 502-564-2611

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Governor Lowers Vehicle Property Taxes

Calling it an issue of fairness to Kentucky taxpayers, Governor Paul Patton today ordered the Kentucky Revenue Cabinet to begin using the trade-in value of cars and trucks for assessing property taxes, effective January 1, 1998. That’s a big change from current assessments, which are based on the midpoint between retail and trade-in, using the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) valuation guide. "I’m here to announce that beginning January 1st, automobiles in Kentucky will be valued at the NADA trade-in value which I believe is much closer to the fair price," Governor Patton said.

Governor Patton made the announcement in Lexington, before a joint meeting of Kentucky’s property valuation administrators and county clerks, the two groups who handle the thousands of taxpayers who believe the current system of taxing their vehicles is unfair. "The taxpayers are mad at the county clerks, mad at the PVA’s, and mad at the system," Governor Patton said. The governor said approximately 30-thousand taxpayers appeal their MOTAX assessments each month, and that thousands more angrily pay the tax because they believe they have no other recourse. He said Kentuckians across the state have complained about the motor vehicle tax for years.

"I’m convinced that the trade-in value more accurately reflects the fair cash value of a typical Kentucky vehicle," the governor said. Patton told the crowd that this change in the method of assessing the motor vehicle property tax should make the system more fair and efficient. PVA’s, who have local assessment authority and can physically inspect the vehicles, have attempted to manually override the state computer NADA assessment. Starting in January, that won’t be necessary and will save the PVA’s , county clerks, and the taxpayers both time and frustration. "I’m convinced that you’ll see a tremendous reduction in the number of irate citizens coming in to your offices, demanding adjustments," the governor said. "I hope you’ll find our administration is being fair to the taxpayers and to you."

The Revenue Cabinet sends out over 300-thousand vehicle tax notifications each month, generating over $225 million of tax dollars for state and local governments on a total of nearly 3.5 million vehicles annually. The average vehicle assessment for 1996 was $5,543.

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