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      07-14-2025, 03:21 PM   #58
Vindicator3
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Most of this is rehash from the other thread, but a few key points -

1) Whether this is legal, likely to be enforced, etc. is a question of the law of the state in which you live and drive the vehicle. Unless you live and drive in Montana, Montana law has nothing to do with whether you are committing tax fraud and nothing to do with whether you are likely to be assessed or prosecuted. It's great that Montana law lets you set up the LLC, but that's about as far as that goes.

2) Most people use the word "loophole" to describe something legal, as contrasted with tax fraud. On this issue, an example of a "loophole" is the CA law that says you don't have to pay sales tax on a car you bought more than a year (taking delivery in another state) before you first brought it into CA. This is why there are warehouses in MT full of supercars sitting out their year, as discussed in the article. Unless/until CA changes this law, CA drivers can do this and legally avoid CA sales tax, if they are willing to jump through the hoops.

3) Other than any loopholes similar to 2) above, this is tax fraud and a crime, not a loophole. Just getting a MT plate to avoid taxes and other fees in your home state is not legal simply because an LLC is involved or simply because MT lets you do it.

4) The LA case is of marginal use. First, it only applies in LA. Second, it does not stand for the proposition that no taxes are owed. It holds simply that the taxes were owed by the LLC and not by the individual. Thus, the state could (and presumably will next time) have sued the LLC and obtained a judgment against the LLC for the back taxes plus interest and penalties. Depending on your state's law, that could allow the state to put a lien on the car that would have to be paid when the car is sold, or even to foreclose on the car to pay the lien. Third, it only applies in LA and only to the law as it existed at the time. The article mentions a state (Iowa? I didn't go back and re-read) that specifically changed their law to make these tax obligations enforceable against the individual despite the LLC ownership. So in your state, they may be able to go after you directly despite what the LA case said about LA law. And, again, MT law has nothing to do with the issues of whether taxes are owed and if so whether they can be collected from the individual or only from the LLC.

Nobody likes paying taxes, but it pays to be wary of people selling tax dodges on websites - mostly modern-day snake oil salesmen.
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