Owners of the stubby and strong Japanese mini trucks be warned ? a property tax payment and proper registration are in your future.
The vehicles ? which are approved for non-highway use in Cowley County ? have to be registered with the county treasurer’s office under a new state law that went into affect July 1. Mini truck owners have 30 days to register, Kathy Foust, the county’s treasurer, said Wednesday.
Non-highway registration costs $10 and owners will also need to pay sales tax if they purchased the truck from an individual, not a dealership. The new registration rules are retroactive so they apply to all current owners as well, not just new buyers.
To register, mini truck owners will need proof of insurance, a title and a sales tax receipt or bill of sale, Foust said. If an owner needs to pay sales tax and hasn’t they can pay when they register. If sales tax is 30 days past due, there will be a penalty.
Those who register will receive registration documents to put in their vehicle but they won’t get a license plate.
The state has concluded that the trucks do not meet requirements to be tagged.
Owners of mini trucks can also expect to get a property tax statement from the county later this fall. Foust could not say for sure how much property tax would be on a mini truck but said the owner of a vehicle that cost $5,000 to $6,000 would probably being looking at a $300 tax bill.
A proliferation of the trucks occurred after the state relaxed laws and allowed the trucks to be used on county roads that were not highways. Last year, the city of Winfield approved an ordinance that allowed the imported vehicles to operate on any road within the city.
Winfield Motor Co. is the primary source of the vehicles in Cowley County and the dealership reports it has sold over 60 of the trucks to date.
Foust said with the popularity of the trucks growing, it was merely a matter of time before tax and title laws changed to include them.
"It wasn’t really fair that everyone else was paying property tax on vehicles," she said. "And this gives the state a way to track the number of vehicles and provide information for police if there is an accident and someone flees the scene.
Foust said she has already received some calls about the new requirements.
