Greg Gerber posted on February 14, 2008 12:35
INDIANAPOLIS -- The way RVs are taxed could change under an industry-backed bill advanced Tuesday.
The Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee gave a nod to House Bill 1125, which puts RVs and truck campers on an excise tax scale similar to the one used for ordinary vehicles. Right now, RVs are taxed as personal property. If signed into law, the rule would take effect in 2010.
That means Hoosiers who own the units -- many of which are built in northern Indiana -- have to deal with changing taxes on their RVs depending on how local assessors value the property, said Mark Bowersox of the Recreation Vehicle Indiana Council, the industry's statewide lobby.
The new system adds predictability to the purchase of an RV, he said.
"It's good for the consumer because they will know what their annual taxes are going to be on the purchase of the new RV before they decide to buy it," he said. "Right now, tax rates, or the actual tax on any particular RV depends on No. 1, the assessed value of the unit as determined by local assessors, and No. 2, the local taxing authority's tax rate at the time."
The industry has tried to get this issue through the General Assembly "for about five years now," Bowersox said.
SOURCE: South Bend Tribune