§ 26-78-105 - Payment of tax -- Penalty.
26-78-105. Payment of tax -- Penalty.
(a) (1) The County and Municipality Vehicle Tax shall be due and payable, without penalty, during the month of January of the calendar year next following the year in which the levy is made.
(2) Penalty for delinquent payment of the vehicle tax shall be one dollar ($1.00) per vehicle per month for each month's delinquency.
(b) (1) Any owner of any vehicle delinquent in the payment of the vehicle tax for more than five (5) months who after the five (5) months shall use and operate the vehicle upon the public roads, streets, and other public ways within the county or municipality levying the vehicle tax or who shall knowingly permit the vehicle to be so used and operated by another person shall be guilty of a violation and upon conviction shall be fined any sum not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) and not more than fifty dollars ($50.00) for each violation.
(2) The fine assessed in subdivision (b)(1) of this section shall be in addition to the vehicle tax and penalty provided in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) (1) The owner of any vehicle first acquired or first used in the county after July 1 of the taxable year shall be required to pay only one-half (1/2) of the annual rate of the vehicle tax for the remainder of the calendar year, and the vehicle tax may be paid without penalty during the thirty-day period next following the date of the first acquisition or first use of the vehicle.
(2) However, no vehicle tax shall be required of the owner if the vehicle tax for the particular year has been paid by a former owner of the vehicle, whether or not in the same county or municipality.