Car Taxes Higher in Portland Than East Hampton, Middletown

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 Portland, is that in the bordering communities of East Hampton and Middletown you could be paying much lower taxes on that car.

According to a report in Connecticut Magazine a 2013 Honda Civic in Portland has a tax bill of $370.98. But next door in Middletown that same exact car would be taxed at just $324. The same car tax is even less in East Hampton, coming in at $313.

That's because Portland's tax rate, which is 30.73 mills, is lower than Middletown's, which is 26.90, and Portland, which is 25.97.

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.