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Legislature advances bill to tax vehicle transfers by notarized bill of sale, supporters say it will ease abandoned-vehicle problem
Summary
Senators moved vetoed Bill 88-38 COR into the third-reading file to consider overriding a gubernatorial veto. The bill would change vehicle-transfer taxation from Kelley Blue Book valuations to taxation based on a notarized bill of sale; supporters said it reduces burdens that lead to abandoned vehicles while opponents warned of potential fraud.
The Legislature voted to place vetoed Bill 88-38 COR into the third-reading file for consideration of an override of the governor’s veto. The bill would repeal the current vehicle-transfer tax valuation method that uses Kelley Blue Book values and instead base taxes on the notarized bill of sale.
The bill's sponsor described repeated accounts of residents abandoning title transfers because the tax assessed using Kelley Blue Book values exceeded the actual sale price of used or deteriorated vehicles. The sponsor said the bill would “reduce financial burdens, encourage proper title transfer, and directly tackles Guam's worsening problem of abandoned vehicles.” The measure retains verification steps and authorizes administrative audits and random compliance checks, the sponsor said.
Opponents on the floor raised concerns about potential abuse of an honor-system approach. One senator warned that a seller could report a deeply reduced sale price to avoid taxes — for example, selling a $20,000 vehicle for $1 and paying tax only on $1 — and called that scenario a potential “can of worms” for abuse of the tax system.
After discussion, the motion to place Bill 88-38 COR into the third-reading file carried by voice/hand vote according to the transcript. The bill will proceed to the legislature’s third-reading file for a future override vote, where recorded action would be required to overturn the governor’s veto.
Next steps: scheduling of a recorded override vote from the third-reading file.
