ST CHARLES, Mo. — The St. Charles Police Department said it is launching an enforcement program to crack down on expired temporary tags.
In a tweet, the department said it will start issuing court summons every time a car with an expired temporary tag is stopped and the officer will seize the temporary tag as evidence.
Temporary tags are handed out whenever someone buys a car.
They give car buyers about 30 days to pay their sales taxes at the Department of Motor Vehicles in exchange for permanent plates.
For years, however, people have not been paying those sales taxes and taking their chances driving around with expired temporary tags hoping to avoid getting a ticket.
And, should they get one, the fines are still cheaper than the sales taxes.
A new law took effect in January allowing car buyers to pay their sales taxes at the point of sale.
The Missouri Department of Revenue doesn’t have any estimates on just how much money the state has lost out on in unpaid sales taxes, nor does it know how many temporary tags and expired license plates are out there.
However, about $4.8 million has come in since the passage of the new law to cut down on the temporary tags.
The money is going into a fund known as the Motor Vehicle Administration Technology Fund to pay for a system that could cost anywhere between $50 to $100 million to put an end to temporary tags once-and-for-all.
