Change to ATV tax collection vetoed

Gov. Pete Ricketts vetoed a bill April 13 that would have changed the imposition of ATV and UTV sales taxes in Nebraska. The veto came at the request of its introducer, Sen. Galen Hadley of Kearney.

LB498 would have required retailers of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and utility-type vehicles (UTVs) to collect sales tax at the time of the sale. For ATVs and UTVs purchased from dealers, county treasurers currently collect the sales tax when they are registered.

Hadley said the bill erroneously was written to apply to ATVs and UTVs sold before the bill’s operative date. He said he planned to make corrections and reintroduce the measure in the 2016 legislative session.

The registration fee for ATVs and UTVs would have been $8, with $7 of the fee retained by the county and $1 deposited in the state Department of Motor Vehicles cash fund.

The bill also would have prohibited the operation of any unregistered ATV or UTV, required vehicles to be registered 30 days after purchase and required the department to record all ATV and UTV registrations.

Current statute defines an all-terrain vehicle as 50 inches or less in width, 1,200 pounds or less, which travels on three or more non-highway tires. A utility-type vehicle is defined as 74 inches or less in width, 180 inches or less in length with a weight of 2,000 pounds or less, which travels on four or more non-highway tires.