Car-tax bills no longer to break out spending

Keeping track of your tax money just got tougher.

New car-tab bills issued by the state Department of Licensing no longer show a breakdown of how much cash goes to Sound Transit, the Seattle Monorail Project or state highways.

A way to gloss over controversial projects?

Apparently not.

Beginning in January, vehicle owners will be required to write their Washington driver's license numbers on their mail-in registration cards. And when the licensing department redesigned the postcard-sized forms, there wasn't enough space to write the driver-license number and still display the tax breakouts, said spokesman Brad Benfield.

So all you get is the grand total.

The new license-number requirement is part of a state law to deter tax evasion.

Some newcomers to Washington keep their out-of-state driver's licenses, then flash those at retail stores to dodge sales taxes. (The situation exists because Washington waives sales tax for visitors from certain states and Canadian provinces who don't have sales taxes at home, so they'll shop here.)

The state hopes to cut public losses by requiring a driver's license number before dispensing car tabs, although Department of Revenue spokesman Mike Gowrylow said that won't fully stop the evasion. Also, a new $529 penalty takes effect Jan. 1 for Washington residents who register cars out of state.

Benfield has designed a larger, prototype car-tab form that displays all the individual taxes, but said it would take months to implement and cost $1.5 million for extra postage and printing — so the agency might need extra cash from next year's Legislature.

More details on billing changes are available online at dol.wa.gov.

Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631 or mlindblom@seattletimes.com