"Pro-Tesla bill brings promise of investment in Connecticut"

[bonnie]

Pro-Tesla bill brings promise of investment in Connecticut

"Despite these setbacks, or maybe because of them, Connecticut is taking a good hard look at itself and the kind of state it wants to be. Will Connecticut welcome innovation and open the doors to businesses wanting to invest in the state or slam that door shut? Fortunately, there are positive signs from some of our leaders in Hartford that the door is open."​

Only a couple of comments so far - including one that is pure FUD. Show it some love & leave a comment if you have a moment.

 

[Enadler]

Bonnie great answer to the FUD. BTW I looked up the author of the misinformation... he is President of a Ford Dealership in Milford CT!

 

[bonnie]

Hah. I just realized that the one negative comment on the article came from the owner of a CT dealership (David Stevens Ford, in Milford).

 

[bonnie]

Bonnie great answer to the FUD. BTW I looked up the author of the misinformation... he is President of a Ford Dealership in Milford CT!

I just saw that!!

 

[SW2Fiddler]

Comment added, and it was FUN.
I borrowed Julian's "Equal Protection To Dealers Under The Law, And Uh, If You Haven't Noticed, Tesla Is A Dealer Not A Franchisor" argument.

 

[bonnie]

I just checked the Yelp reviews for Stevens Ford in Milford. Stevens Of Milford - Milford, CT

Mr. Steven's comment claims that dealerships protect consumers - yet strangely enough, the Yelp reviews give the business 1.5 stars/5, filled with stories from consumers as to how they were ripped off.

 

[SureValla]

Thanks for posting I hadn't yet seen this article.

I've been following SB-3 for about a month now. As a future model 3 owner I would like to be able to buy my car in my state rather than having to drive an hour to NY. Therefore I was happy to see it passed the transportation committee by a vote of 29-4 on 3/15.

Since then it appears it has gone through a few machinations in the state government on its way to an actual vote in the Senate. One interesting item of note was in the estimate for the financial impact to the state (AN ACT CONCERNING THE LICENSING OF NEW AND USED CAR DEALERS.). The paragraph I found interesting was that this law will actually increase sales tax revenue in the state of CT.

Of the adjacent states, Massachusetts is the only state that charges sales tax on the purchase of motor vehicles on nonresidents. Vehicle purchases from Massachusetts are therefore likely to qualify for the sales tax credit for out-of-state purchases. Any potential shift in sales from Massachusetts to Connecticut under this bill, would result in the full sales tax payment in Connecticut, rather than an out-of-state sales tax credit, and therefore may result in a potential revenue gain.

Meaning when a CT resident buys a Tesla in Mass they pay sales tax to Mass (6.25%). When that resident brings the car back to CT and registeres it here they can take a credit for the sales tax paid to MA and then pay the additional .1% remaining to CT (CT sales tax 6.35%). On a 35,000 Model 3 this would mean MA gets $2187.50 and CT gets $35. On a 71,500 Model S MA gets $4468.75 and CT gets $71.5.

This same principle does not work for NY and CT gets the entire sales tax bill.

In support of this I have written a letter to all CT senators. Only a few have responded to me. One was a Tesla owner himself which was very encouraging. I think this bill has a great chance. The current legislative session ends May 4th so we need to get it done by then!

Below is a list of all CT state senators. They all have very easy forms to fill out on their websites to send them letters. Please help us in getting this passed.
Connecticut General Assembly

 

[Bimbels]

Hee hee - I just added my comment with the Yelp review link.

 

[Curt Renz]

Thank you, Bonnie. Since I am not a Facebook member, I could not expand upon your fine comments within that article.

It could be further argued that dealers only compete on markups from the wholesale price that they are charged by manufacturers. Tesla essentially sells wholesale directly to consumers. It does not have a monopoly in cars or even electric ones. If a consumer does not like the Tesla price, they can go to its competitors. If enough of them do that, Tesla would have to lower prices or go out of business. That's the essence of the American free enterprise system.

The dealers are economic "rent seekers" opposed to truly free enterprise as described in this Forbes article: Strangling Innovation: Tesla vs. 'Rent Seekers'

 

[tinm]

You know, dangling the Yelp reviews in front of an auto dealer who's shoveling the usual NADA-approved anti-Tesla FUD is a beautiful move. Must remember to do that

 

[bonnie]

You know, dangling the Yelp reviews in front of an auto dealer who's shoveling the usual NADA-approved anti-Tesla FUD is a beautiful move. Must remember to do that

Also have a list of 'families of dealerships', since usually there are multiple locations under the one umbrella name. Kind of kills off the whole 'franchises are competitive' angle.

 

[tinm]

More CT news...

“Tesla” bill advances in General Assembly

 

[SureValla]

More CT news...

“Tesla” bill advances in General Assembly

Thanks for the link, it appears the bill has now passed the finance committee in the house by a vote of 32-14 (Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee - Vote Tally Sheet) . I did some research and found out that it does indeed have to pass both the house and senate this year before May 4th despite a similar bill passing in the house last year.


It’s interesting that this article notes there will be a limit on the amount of Tesla stores that will be allowed to open (3). I’ve read other articles that state there is no limit. I have also read the bill and do not see a limit mentioned. I know last year’s bill did have a limit of 3 so maybe this is just bad reporting.

@bonnie can you please update your other thread with this information? Thank you.

 

[bonnie]

done.

I believe the 3 limit may be correct. But if so, that agreement was made during a different business environment. With the onslaught of Model 3 reservations, it would be a disservice to CT citizens to limit the number of locations.

 

[bonnie]

I left a few comments on the article - just shaking my head ...

 

[SageBrush]

Meaning when a CT resident buys a Tesla in Mass they pay sales tax to Mass (6.25%). When that resident brings the car back to CT and registeres it here they can take a credit for the sales tax paid to MA and then pay the additional .1% remaining to CT (CT sales tax 6.35%). On a 35,000 Model 3 this would mean MA gets $2187.50 and CT gets $35. On a 71,500 Model S MA gets $4468.75 and CT gets $71.5.

Rational arguments aside, money talks loudest and this one is excellent. I suggest though framing the argument in terms of lost sales tax related to all Tesla sales, including the huge number of Model 3 coming down the pike ;-)

 

[Causalien]

It was disheartening when it seems like all the states are shutting down Tesla's direct sale. Big thank you to others who kept at it and made this possible. You kept it up while I gave up.

 

[SureValla]

Rational arguments aside, money talks loudest and this one is excellent. I suggest though framing the argument in terms of lost sales tax related to all Tesla sales, including the huge number of Model 3 coming down the pike ;-)

There are currently ~1,100 Tesla's in CT. Assuming all of them were bought in MA for average price of $80,000 means CT has lost 5.5 million in tax revenue already (80,000/car * 6.25% tax *1100 cars). However, I realize most of them are probably from Fairfield county (closer to NYC) so its likely that most of them were bought in NYS.

Although now that I'm thinking of it, it would benefit the purchaser to buy in MA over NY b/c NY has a higher sales tax rate* (remember if you pay more in sales tax in another state than you would in CT they doesn't reimburse you) so the assumption that all CT Tesla's might be bought in MA might not be crazy. Now that I've written this thread I'll be sure buying my Model 3 in MA if its not legal to buy in CT by then.

*NY base sales tax is 4% with every county adding at least 3% more for a minimum of 7%. Westchester county, closest to CT, where Tesla has two stores is 7.375%.

Back on Topic now: The 1,100 CT Tesla's account for ~1.7% of all Tesla sales in the US (I think its 65,000, please correct if wrong). If we assume a similar % of Model 3 reservations came from CT that means that CT itself is responsible for 6800 reservations (400,000*1.7%). Again assuming all CT Model 3 Teslas are bought in MA at an average selling price of $42,500 it means CT will lose an additional 18 million in tax revenue (42,500/car * 6.25% tax * 6800 cars). Note this does not account for the additional sales of X and S in the coming years.

 

[HankLloydRight]

You don't pay NYS sales tax for CT residents. Only CT tax upon registration.

 

[SW2Fiddler]

Off topic. Maybe. But I notice Texas has the same sales tax as CT, we are 6.25%.