Re: alfa-digest V7 #1087

[Pottree@domain.elided]

In a message dated 10/11/1999 7:11:17 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
owner-alfa-digest@domain.elided writes:

<< the California law requiring a $300 additional
 registration fee on out-of-state cars being brought into California
 unconstitutional.  The article said imposition of the fee would end on Nov.
 1.  I didn't see whether the state intends to appeal this decision or will
 just abide by it.  I would think the state would be concerned about the
 revenue loss.
  >>

Who knows what may eventually happen?  But it seems as though every time 
there is any mention of our fair state and money and cars together, there is 
always the thought that extra revenue is at the bottom of the issue.  I don't 
think so.

Currently, I believe we are running a surplus for a change, so the panic of 
trying to find every possible dime is a bad memory.  The absolute number of 
used cars brought into CA from other US states cannot possibly be high 
enough, at $300 a crack, to really make any impact one way or the other on 
our gigantic state revenue.  If anything, if they ever sat down and thought 
about it, which doesn't seem likely to me either, I think they'd be more 
concerned in Sacramento about businesses bringing in large numbers of non-CA 
cars on a commercial basis, or somehow trying a ruse to ship in boatloads of 
noncompliant cars as "used" or something.  In-migration from other US states 
is also at a low ebb.  And besides us chickens, really how many people in CA 
are going to be regularly going to all the trouble of buying old cars in 
other states and bringing them here as collector or specialty vehicles?  In 
all, a negligible number, I'd guess.

The unconstitutional fee was designed to limited the number of people 
bringing in noncompliant cars (a small public good) and also for force them 
to buy CA cars once here (let's here it for the Homes Tuttle lobby).  The 
idea is to use an economic stick to get people to conform to certain desired 
behaviors, and not really to raise any significant revenue. I'd say.

For definitions of significant, see Sagan, Carl.

Charlie
AROSC
LA, CA, USA

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