Quote Originally Posted by Rasmus View Post
Thanks Frank, It's always good to look at something again, especially if it seems too good to be true.

I'd be careful getting information from Jalopnik. It's writers are interested in views, not truth or reality. They write sensational articles for views to make money from ad revenue. Truth and reality are fine but if it gets in the way of a good story then bend it. Jalopnik is owned and run by Gawker Media which also runs: Deadspin, Lifehacker, Gizmodo, io9, Kotaku, and Jezebel. Additionally, the writer of the article Steve Lehto, while an attorney, is "an attorney almost exclusively in consumer protection and Michigan lemon law". Dude's not a tax lawyer. And Tax Law is a world away from "Consumer Protection".

So lets look at a few things:
Is it illegal to create a corporation in Montana that you are the Sole Owner of? No.
Is it illegal for an individual to sell a car to said corporation? No.
Is it illegal for said corporation to own a car? No.
Is it illegal for said corporation to register it's car in it's State of Incorporation? No.
Is it illegal for said corporation to allow a person to drive it's car? No.
Is it illegal for an individual to try to avoid Sales Tax on a $450,000 motor home purchase in their home state by creating a corporation in Montana to purchase said motor home instead? Depends on your State Law, but I'm gonna go with Yes. GMan wants his money.

And regarding the insurance. Just don't lie to your insurance company. Tell them exactly what you're doing, in writing. Tell them where it's kept. How often it's driven. How many miles it's expected to drive per year. Who's going to drive it. And how much money you've got in it. Just be truthful and you won't have an issue with your insurance provider.

So for us, we're not trying to avoid paying sales tax on a vehicle purchase. And that's the big deal: not paying taxes.
I absolutely agree. The biggest take away from this (opinion) article for me was that you don't want to commit tax fraud, or anything even close to tax fraud. Barely legal could be a headache, even if it's not a cost burden.

I think you're right on declaring everything to insurance, and I like the whole selling the car back to yourself idea. Then you pay state sales tax on it upon registering it with your new shiny VIN.



Again, not saying this can't work or that I'm not considering it. Just more food for thought, since it's not that straightforward to me.