§ 8907 — Commissioner; computation of taxable costs

(a) The Commissioner may investigate the taxable cost of any motor vehicle transferred subject to the provisions of this chapter. If the motor vehicle is not acquired by purchase in Vermont or is received for an amount that does not represent actual value, or if no tax form is filed or it appears to the Commissioner that a tax form contains fraudulent or incorrect information, the Commissioner may, in the Commissioner’s discretion, fix the taxable cost of the motor vehicle at the clean trade-in value of vehicles of the same make, type, model, and year of manufacture as designated by the manufacturer, as shown in J.D. Power Values or any comparable publication, less the lease end value of any leased vehicle. The Commissioner may develop a process to determine the value of vehicles that do not have clean trade-in value in J.D. Power Values. The Commissioner may compute and assess the tax due and notify the purchaser verbally, if the purchaser is at a DMV location, or immediately by mail, and the purchaser shall remit the same within 15 days after notice is sent or provided.
(b) The Commissioner may investigate the lease end value of any motor vehicle transferred subject to the provisions of this chapter. If the listed lease end value of a motor vehicle does not represent a commercially reasonable value, the Commissioner shall establish a reasonable, commercial value for the end of the lease period. The Commissioner may adopt, amend, and repeal rules under 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 to establish the lease end value and may require and accept any satisfactory evidence of such value. (Added 1959, No. 327 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. March 1, 1960; amended 1967, No. 116, § 3, eff. April 17, 1967; 1995, No. 19, § 7, eff. April 17, 1995; 1995, No. 80 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. Feb. 28, 1996; 2017, No. 71, § 22; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 576, eff. July 1, 2022; 2025, No. 66, § 23, eff. July 1, 2025.)