Miss. car tag fund in shortfall

The Clarion-Ledger, 1/30/9

Until a compromise can be reached in the Legislature, Mississippi counties are facing an estimated shortfall of $33 million from car tag revenues.

Hinds County could see a loss of $1 million this fiscal year, Tax Collector Eddie Fair said, and he has no idea how the county could recoup that.

“A lot of people are not buying cars, but I think part of it is people not renewing tags, which is a serious problem,” Fair said.

Rankin County officials put their possible loss even higher – at $2 million.

In the 1990s, lawmakers decided to give Mississippi drivers a discount on car tags and make up for the loss to counties by raising the sales tax on new cars from 3 to 5 percent.