Cost of driving in Michigan about to rev upward as fees, gas tax jump
Shiva Ganganithi got a bit of a shock just ahead of his Jan. 3 birthday when the notice for his annual vehicle registration arrived in the mail recently. He owed $339 in renewal fees, an amount he called "astronomical" compared to the previous rates for his 2011 and 2007 Toyota Priuses.
“I called the (Secretary of State’s Office) and I asked what was going on,” said Ganganithi, a 25-year-old who works in the finance department for General Motors. “They said I was three days over when the new bill kicks in, but if you pay before the end of December, you’d be grandfathered into the current rate.”
The fee hike may be a surprise for some Michigan drivers — Ganganithi found out via a Michigan License Plate Renewal Notice sent to his Sterling Heights home last month — but it’s been in the works since Gov. Rick Snyder signed a series of bills in November 2015 as part of a $1.2-billion road-funding package. Michiganders still have some time left to renew their registration with 2016 prices, if their birthday is within the next six months.
The plan — which will raise an additional $600 million annually in taxes for transportation purposes — increases annual vehicle registration costs for passenger vehicles and commercial trucks by about 20% and increases the state gas tax by 7.3 cents. Owners of hybrid and all-electric vehicles will pay even more.
Read more: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/politics/2016/12/20/cost-driving-michigan-rev-upward-fees-gas-tax-jump/95645436/
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