We sure do love our military folks here in Alabama. The Governor today unveiled the 36th and 37th specialty car tag bearing an "Honor the Military" theme. There are so many variations of military tags in our state that the list designating which vets pay which tag fees is divided into three parts. (If you were a POW, or won the Medal of Honor, you get a free specialty tag for life.*) The tags announced today identify veterans of our twin ongoing wars...in Iraq, and in Afghanistan. They'll be available next month.
The Gov suggests you honk your horn at cars sporting the new tags to show your support. The veterans will have to pay $26 for the honor, unless they are taken prisoner or win the Medal of Honor, that is.* If we really want to honor them, shouldn't the tags be free? Isn't charging like inviting someone to a dinner in their honor and making them pay for their own meal?
Come to think of it, it all of this very smart? Aren't we spending a gazillion dollars on "homeland security" in the belief that there are bad people who want to do bad things to us right here in the homeland? Should we suggest vets go around announcing the fact that they took part in wars that terrorist see as a reason to hate?
[For The Record: Alabama now offers at least 150 kinds of plates, with another dozen or so speciality tags in the pipeline.]
[* The Medal of Honor and POW TAG ITSELF is free. The Veterans still have to pay the taxes, of course. I'm just suggesting that we make the tags for the other vets free too.]
I think it's great.
ReplyDeleteSpecialty plates, as you likely know, are for SIGs (Special Interest Groups).
ReplyDeleteAn EXTRA fee is often charged for those SIG tags.
May I offer some gentle correction?
You wrote: "(If you were a POW, or won the Medal of Honor, you get a free specialty tag for life.)"
The word "free" is misleading.
From my examination of the site, and my own experiences (I've had specialty plates, and have one now), I came to a much different conclusion than you, so I spoke with the Madison County License Department for clarification.
The property tax - ad valorem - of ANY and ALL vehicles MUST be paid for the vehicle upon which the tag is placed.
So naturally, the ad valorem for a '09 MB E320 will be different than a '76 YE9 GMC Sierra Classic/Chevy Silverado luxury trim pickup truck.
The only "forgiven" part (or, as the DOR uses "free") is the the following:
$23 "metal plate" + $2 issue fee = $25 which is the cost of the tag itself.
Thanks for visiting, Martha!
ReplyDelete