Dear Mahatma: When I renewed the license for my Prius, I had to pay an extra $100, but realize the state doesn't get as much fuel tax from a Prius as from regular cars. Seems to me there is another source of income not being utilized. I always see cars with expired paper tags. The oldest one I've seen lately was September 2019. Does this also indicate the driver hasn't paid sales tax? -- Jan
Dear Jan: September? We have personally seen a dealer's drive-out tag more than a year old.
Yes, such a tag indicates a driver hasn't licensed or paid sales tax on the purchase of a vehicle. Sales tax, especially on a new vehicle, can be a fiscal booger, but few abuses inflame our readers like this one.
No vehicle should be driven on a public roadway more than 30 days without a valid registration plate. The job of ticketing miscreants belongs to law enforcement, but the Department of Finance and Administration also monitors temporary tags that are not properly registered within 30 days.
Spokesman Scott Hardin said expired tags can be reported to the Finance and Administration Department by calling (501) 682-7025. Quoting Dean Martin: This is bee-yoo-tee-ful.
Sherwood's district court judge is Milas "Butch" Hale III. We asked him the penalty in his court for having an expired dealer temporary tag. The fine, he said, is $195 but is reduced to a warning if the driver quickly gets the vehicle licensed.
There's the rub. The cost of getting caught is far less than the cost of licensing and sales tax.
Three solutions:
First, the driver is flogged on the spot. There may be some constitutional conundrum here.
Second, the vehicle is impounded and sold, with the proceeds going to the state's general fund. This punishment wouldn't exactly fit the crime but would make the rest of us feel good.
Third, state law should allow or direct dealers to license and pay sales tax for the new owner. That way, the sales tax could be incorporated into the car loan. Is this genius or what?
Dear Mahatma: With all the questions on running out of gas, my coffee group has the solution. Carry one gallon of gas in the trunk. Put the can in a box to keep it upright. This way if anyone in Arkansas runs out of gas they will have enough to make it to a gas station. -- B.B.
Dear B.B.: Dial back the caffeine, fellas.
A gas can in the truck might tip over, box or not. Think of the stink. Even an empty can emits fumes.
This makes us think of the Ford Pinto, the 1970s vehicle known as the Pizza Oven on Wheels, and which was prone to an exploding fuel tank in a rear-end collision.
The real solution to running out of gas is to put fuel in the tank when the warning light comes on. Or before that.
Vanity plate seen around town: WEEEEEE
Fjfellone@gmail.com
Metro on 02/22/2020