Our state senator proposes vanity plate fee hike
Our state senator, John Watkins, has proposed raising the vanity plate fee from $10 to $20 per year. With 830K vanity plates in Virginia, it could be a windfall for the state.
via RTD
Our state senator, John Watkins, has proposed raising the vanity plate fee from $10 to $20 per year. With 830K vanity plates in Virginia, it could be a windfall for the state.
via RTD
i detest vanity plates passionately and fully support this. why not $25, 30 or more? People who obsess with themselves will surely pay. afterall, they have an identity to maintain as the “2fas4u” mustang dude! or other such gems as “1awyer,” “JAGRBOMB” “QTpie” “hokifan” etc. ok…every once in a while a truly
hilarious plate appears and perhaps those folks should get free vanity plates for making the public laugh.
Virginia has the cheapest vanity plates in the country and hence the success of the plates as a revenue stream for the commonwealth. According to USA Today we are the #1 Vanity Plate state in per capita sales. It’s my suspicion that a doubling of the fee for this product will result in 30+% of the demand being eliminated. So does it make business sense to cost the state 249,000 vanity plates to possibly double revenue (off remaining owners) in the short term? I don’t know. I feel like long term costs are even greater as vanity plates are a social phenomenon based upon seeing other people having them. If the population of those with plates drops it will likely create a social feedback loop that inhibits growth from new customers (emerging young drivers or new Virginia residents). I doubt DMV or Sen. Watkins have conducted research to find what point of pain reduces plate sales growth so I am highly skeptical of this as a matter of sound fiscal policy.
Peter, that’s all well and good but you forget the battle cry of the government:
“More taxes more money.”
*beats chest*
I agree with OMG, This is a great idea, it is ridiculous that they are only $10. I had no idea they were that cheap, I have never looked into them, because I’m not a jackass. Hike it up! $20 will hardly decrease the demand, I don’t see this as a tax, this is a luxury product that just happens to be provided by the gov’t. I doubt you could get anything personalized for 10 bucks in private industry. Daddy isnt going to tell Susie she cant get a Q-T-PI license plate for her 16th birthday or a HOKIEFN plate when she gets into Tech because it costs $10 more than it did last year. The “big bad tax man” perception that folks have about this is simply nonsense this is a great place to raise revenue on WANT rather than on things people NEED like a sales tax would. People dont like it then the can get $10 worth of stickers to “personalize” their vehicle.