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An Act To Allow a Motor Vehicle Excise Tax Credit for a Vehicle No Longer in Use
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §1482, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2011, c. 240, §13, is further amended to read:
 
5. Credits.   An owner or lessee who has paid the excise or property tax for a vehicle the ownership or registration of which is transferred, or that is subsequently totally lost by fire, theft or accident or totally junked or abandoned, in the same registration year, is entitled to a credit up to the maximum amount of the tax previously paid in that registration year for any one vehicle toward the tax for any number of vehicles, regardless of the number of transfers that may be required of the owner or lessee in that registration year. The credit is available only if the vehicle's ownership is transferred, the vehicle is totally lost by fire, theft or accident, the vehicle is totally junked or abandoned, the use of the vehicle is totally discontinued or, in the case of a leased vehicle, the registration is transferred.
 
A. The credit must be given in any place in which the excise tax is payable.
 
B. For each transfer made in the same registration year, the owner shall pay $3 to the place in which the excise tax is payable.
 
C. During the last 4 months of the registration year, the credit may not exceed 1/2 of the maximum amount of the tax previously paid in that registration year for any one vehicle.
 
D. If the credit available under this subsection exceeds the amount transferred to another vehicle, a municipality may choose, but is not required to refund the excess amount. If a municipality chooses to refund excess amounts it must do so in all instances where there is an excess amount.
 
E. For the purposes of this subsection, "owner" includes the surviving spouse of the owner.
 
G.  For the purposes of this subsection, "totally discontinued" means that the owner has permanently discontinued all use of the vehicle except for selling, transferring ownership of, junking or abandoning that vehicle. The owner of the vehicle must provide a signed statement attesting that use of the vehicle from which the credit is being transferred is totally discontinued. If the owner who has totally discontinued use of a vehicle later seeks to register that vehicle, no excise tax credits may be applied with respect to the registration of that vehicle or any subsequent transfer of that vehicle's registration.
 
SUMMARY
Current law provides for a motor vehicle excise tax credit for the owner of a vehicle that is totally lost by fire, theft or accident or is totally junked or abandoned. This bill clarifies that the motor vehicle excise tax credit is available only if the vehicle's ownership is transferred, the vehicle is totally lost by fire, theft or accident, the vehicle is totally junked or abandoned or the use of the vehicle is totally discontinued. In the case of a leased vehicle, the credit is available only if the registration is transferred. This bill requires the owner of the vehicle to provide a signed statement attesting that the vehicle from which the credit is being transferred is totally discontinued and states that if the owner who has totally discontinued use of a vehicle later seeks to register that vehicle, no excise tax credits may be applied with respect to the registration of that vehicle or any subsequent transfer of that vehicle's registration.