It's no secret that Wisconsin is one of the highest taxed states around, but after talking with my daughter this evening, I'm feeling a bit better about the Land of Bucky. To explain: After I got my "new" used car, I had my old one shipped down to Florida for her. I sent her the title beforehand, with instructions to take care of the registration, plates and insurance, figuring that when the car came off the carrier, she'd be all set. Surprise #1: Can't get registration unless the car is there. Surprise #2: $200.00 bucks just for the plates. Surprise #3: No registration until you have proof of insurance. BIG Surprise #4: Right about $1800.00/yr for insurance!!! And that's just liability! Granted, it's a '95 vehicle, so full coverage may be a bit much, but come on!
Us Cheeseheads get off a bit easier. First, we can register and get plates for a vehicle, as long as we have a clear title in hand. Plates have just recently gone up to $55.00/yr. and I think I fresh registration is under $40.00. Yes, I would've forced her to have insurance, but it's not a pre-requisite for getting plates. We also have provisions for some discounting if the young driver (she's only 19) has a good school record. Her insurance here would've run her about $6-800.00/yr. for liability only and $3-400.00 more for full coverage. And that's the rate for our area, which is deemed to be in a higher range, due to a high concentration of deer/vehicle hits.
So, are we Wisconsinites living under some kind of beer bubble or is Florida just an exception? I know of other Southern states with high registration for vehicles, but the rest of their taxation is quite low and I'm not sure at all about insurance rates. Any advice I can give her? She's working two jobs now, so transportation has become a major issue with getting people to tote her back and forth everywhere, but if 1-1/2 of those jobs is going to pay for that transportation mode, it hardly seems worth it!