House committee advances tax exemption for adaptive driving equipment

The Utah House Revenue and Taxation Standing Committee voted to pass favorably the first substitute to House Bill 79, adaptive driving equipment amendments, after the bill’s sponsor described constituent circumstances that motivated the change.

The bill, presented by Representative Watkins, would allow owners of motor vehicles with adaptive driving equipment already installed to claim a sales-tax exemption provided certain conditions are met and the vehicle was purchased through a licensed vehicle dealer. "We think it's a great idea," Representative Watkins said, describing an agreement with the Tax Commission to avoid adding administrative staff by routing verification through dealers. Watkins told the committee that a constituent had purchased a vehicle with roughly $12,000–$13,000 of adaptive equipment…