There’s no up-selling this time around when people visit the Pasco County Tax Collector’s office.
Mike Fasano is encouraging everyone who renews their auto tags and registration to only renew for one year, and ignore the option to pay two years at once. Otherwise, those looking to pay ahead could pay much more than those who take it year-by-year.
“It is imperative that those who decide to renew their auto registration between now and the end of August strongly consider not renewing for two years,” Fasano said, in a release. “If you do, you will not be eligible to receive the benefits those who renew for one year starting Sept. 1 will receive.”
Fasano is referring to a bill currently awaiting Gov. Rick Scott’s signature that would reduce auto tag fees beginning Sept. 1. The move reverses a budget emergency measure that had significantly raised fees in 2009 to help compensate for budget shortfalls. The reduction proposal was announced by Scott last December, and would create an average annual savings of $25, according to his office.
However, one thing the bill does not do is provide any refunds to the more than 750,000 motor vehicle owners statewide who renew their tags in two-year increments, Fasano said.
“The Florida Legislature has excluded the hundreds of thousands of people statewide who have, thus far, renewed for two years,” he said. “That number will only grow daily unless we can help Florida vehicle owners understand how much money they will lose once this bill becomes law.”
