Windsor Car Taxes Lower Than its Neighbors

If you bought a new car in 2013 you probably just realized that you're paying high auto taxes now as a result.

What you probably don't know, if you live here in Windsor, is that those car taxes are still lower than neighboring South Windsor or Vernon.

According to a report in Connecticut Magazine a 2013 Honda Civic in Vernon has a tax bill of $406. But next door in South Windsor that same exact car would be taxed at just $355. Here in Windsor the tax bill on that car is just $337.

That's because South Windsor's tax rate is 29.43 mills and Vernon's is 33.63 mills. Both are higher than Windsor's, which is 27.95.

The magazine makes the case that such tax disparity from town to town is unfair.

"In Connecticut, it’s the community you call home—and its fiscal status—that is the overriding variable determining if you’ll have to fork over $100 or $800 in taxes for the exact same vehicle," the magazine says. "And, in a sort of double-jeopardy, motor vehicle tax bills tend to be most gentle in Connecticut’s nicer and most affluent communities and toughest in the larger, more challenged places."

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy believes the car tax is regressive and unfair and sought to eliminate it this past year, a plan that drew howls of opposition from town and city leaders and never made it through the legislature.

You can view Connecticut Magazine's interactive map of the local breakdown of car taxes.