California DMV Announces Another Major Breakthrough on Slashing of the Car Tax

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--Nov. 2, 20034, 2003--The California Department of Motor Vehicles today announced another major breakthrough in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's effort to give Californians even faster and easier access to his two-thirds reduction of the car tax.

The department has completed the highly complex and time-consuming reprogramming of DMV computers to the lower rate in just one-fourth the time it usually takes. They did in seven days what, in the past, has frequently taken up to 30 days.

The DMV began mailing out car tax bills at the reduced rate today, and the first of the lower bills should begin showing up in mailboxes later this week. Californians receiving the new bills will no longer need to recalculate the amount due or pay the higher fees and wait for a refund.

Customers who have already been billed at the higher rate can use DMV's vehicle license fee (VLF) calculator on the department's Web site at dmv.ca.gov to automatically recalculate their bills to the lower amount. They can then write a check to DMV for the lower amount rather than waiting for a refund.

Beginning today, DMV field offices are also on-line at the reduced VLF rates. But to reduce lines and wait times, DMV is strongly discouraging customers from going to field offices to renew routine vehicle registrations.

At Governor Schwarzenegger's urging, DMV technicians worked around the clock for much of the past week and managed to complete the reprogramming in a neck-snapping seven days.

"This quick turnaround is the kind of service and performance Californians expect from their government," said DMV's new Interim Director, Chon Gutierrez. "It's proof positive that government really can work the way it's supposed to when we put our minds to it. It happened because a lot of dedicated, hardworking folks here at DMV made the changeover an urgent priority and put in some very long hours, including overnight and weekend shifts, to complete the job in record time. They have made things a lot easier for Californians."

All that remains now is to mail the automatic refunds Governor Schwarzenegger has ordered for everyone who already paid the higher rate. The latest estimate is that refund checks should be sent very early in the new year.