Age Has It's Privledges
| 31 January 2003
For several months, the tricks in this column have been designed to aid with the care and feeding of your special pony. This month the pony turns the tables with some tricks of its own. You’ve all heard that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks but how about old ponies? Can they learn new tricks? Well, yes they can if they’re a resident of North Carolina, if they’re 35-years old or older, and if they’re the 4-wheel Mustang variety. Ponies that meet that description can perform two new tricks. Depending on how you use your particular pony, one trick might increase your pleasure and the other could save you some money.
The first trick the old pony can perform is one that involves changing its license plate. If it doesn’t like the current red, white, and blue “First in Flight” plate, it can switch to a plate from its model year. North Carolina General Statute Chapter 20, section 63(d) tells the pony that it’s legal to perform the trick. The pony’s owner might ask the pony to carry a copy of the rule in the glove compartment. Quoted directly, it says:
“Any motor vehicle of the age of 35 years or more from the date of manufacture may bear the license plates of the year of manufacture instead of the current registration plates, if the current registration plates are maintained within the vehicle and produced upon the request of any person.”
It’s up to the pony to interpret what “date of manufacture” and “year of manufacture” mean. My pony decided they meant model year.
The second trick from the old pony will probably save the pony’s owner some money. It’s not a lot of money but in many cases it would buy a meal for two at a nice restaurant. Almost certainly, it would more than pay for the pony’s annual registration fee. The information appeared once before in Pony Express when Boice Triplett brought it to our attention back in May 1999. At that time, the 1964½ and 1965 ponies were on the threshold of qualifying. Now the ponies from 1966 and 1967 also qualify, with those from 1968 right behind them. If the guidelines fit the pony’s lifestyle, its owner can decide to call it an antique automobile and qualify for a reduction in personal property tax. Here’s a direct quote from North Carolina General Statute Chapter 105, section 330.9(a and b):
“(a) For the purpose of this section, the term "antique automobile" means a motor vehicle that meets all of the following conditions:
(1) It is registered with the Division of Motor Vehicles and has an historic vehicle special license plate under G.S. 20-79.4.
(2) It is maintained primarily for use in exhibitions, club activities, parades, and other public interest functions.
(3) It is used only occasionally for other purposes.
(4) It is owned by an individual.
(5) It is used by the owner for a purpose other than the production of income and is not used in connection with a business.
(b) Antique automobiles are designated a special class of property under Article V, Sec. 2(2) of the North Carolina Constitution and shall be assessed for taxation in accordance with this section. An antique automobile shall be assessed at the lower of its true value or five hundred dollars ($500.00). (1995, c. 512, s. 2.)”
Now, here’s what North Carolina General Statute Chapter 20, section 79.4(b,17) says about the special historic vehicle-owner license plate:
“(17) Historic Vehicle Owner. - Issuable for a motor vehicle that is at least 35 years old measured from the date of manufacture. The plate for an historic vehicle shall bear the word "Antique" unless the vehicle is a model year 1943 or older. The plate for a vehicle that is a model year 1943 or older shall bear the word "Antique" or the words "Horseless Carriage", at the option of the vehicle owner.”
North Carolina General Statute Chapter 20, section 79.7 lists annual fees for special registration plates. Plates with fees greater than ten-dollars ($10.00) are listed individually and the rest fall into the “All Other Special Plates” category where the annual fee equals ten dollars ($10.00). The historic plate is not listed separately so the assumption is that the ten-dollar ($10.00) fee applies. Each special plate fee is in addition to the regular annual fee.
The old pony can be quite tricky. Age has its privileges.