Montana’s registered agents provide a valuable service to the business community. A recent story on a California crackdown on luxury cars with Montana plates caught the attention of Montanan Michael DeMato, a registered agent who felt the story cast an unfair shadow on the profession. YPR’s Karl Lengel spoke with DeMato about the business.
The “Montana Loophole” — according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration or CDTFA — is a scheme where buyers create out-of-state limited liability companies (LLCs) to register their high-end automobiles to avoid paying California taxes and fees.
In our story in March, California government agencies were “targeting high-end automobile dealers and their customers through investigations and audits.”
Montana Registered Agents Michael DeMato and Britta Cech join me in a conversation about Registered Agents and the service they provide to Montanans.
DeMato also comments on how the state government supports - and does not support - registered agents. DeMato is confident the state is prepared for what many see as a coming boom for the region as baby boomers relocate and access retirement capital.
As we went to press, DeMato asked that we clarify his mention of $12 million in generated revenue. In an email, DeMato wrote:
“That number represents the amount of revenue generated to the Montana DMV by MT registered agents for luxury vehicle registrations. Luxury vehicles are considered “luxury” because the MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) is over $150,000. We do not have a number for the total amount of revenue generated by all the vehicles LLC’s register which are under that threshold. But, it will most certainly be a very significant number as the bulk of our clients (and most other registered agent’s clients) register far more vehicles under that luxury threshold than over it. It is difficult to obtain that information from the MT DMV.”
