Maine cracks down on car registrations

KITTERY – Mainers who register their cars across the border in New Hampshire to save money face an $868 fine if they get caught.

The penalty is more than $300 higher than it was just a few months ago because motor vehicle fines have increased across the board, Sgt. Charles Denault of the Kittery Police Department said.

“Everywhere you look, you see New Hampshire plates,” he said. “We’re infested.”

The fine for the license plate infraction was raised to make up for revenue lost when people try to the beat the system.

Even though tourist season is over, Kittery police are still getting daily reports of local residents driving cars registered in New Hampshire.

Kittery police have vowed to tag any vehicle with out-of-state plates that is parked in the town for more than 30 days. Information on the owner or operator will then be turned over to the state for investigation.

Kittery police have been averaging six busts a week during their patrols, Denault said.

Every year the state loses millions of dollars when Maine residents don’t register their cars in the state. And taxpayers end up paying more in income tax to offset that loss in revenue.

“I liken it to a crop of dandelions,” Town Manager Philip McCarthy said. “When you get rid of one crop, another crop pops up. This has been an ongoing, continuing problem.”

The scofflaws range across the spectrum, from people with low incomes who register in New Hampshire to avoid proof of insurance to middle-class residents seeking to save on sales tax and excise taxes, Denault said.