Celebrating
BlackHistory
Serving DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale Counties
Volume 18 Number 21
www.ocgnews.com
february 1, 2013 FREE
Changes to car tag tax to take effect March 1
T
By Valerie J. Morgan
here are changes in store for those who purchase a vehicle in Georgia. Buying a vehicle here means you’ll no longer pay sales tax or the annual so-called “birthday tax.” Instead, car buyers will pay a one-time title tax. This year, the new title tax fee will be 6.5 percent of the value of your vehicle. Next year, that fee rises to 6.75 percent and then in 2015, to 7 percent. House Bill 386, which goes into effect March 1, replaces the state’s sales tax and the annual “birthday tax” on vehicles purchased and titled in Georgia. Brent Bennett, director of vehicle registration in the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office, said the new law is generating a lot of questions from consumers and DeKalb is covering its bases to get the word out. DeKalb Tax Commissioner Claudia G. Lawson is including an insert with March tag renewal notices that spell out how the new tax will work and staff members are providing information to those who call or visit the office, Bennett said. The county also is advertising the changes in local newspapers. “It’s a very complex law with many aspects,” said Bennett. “Typically, people don’t really pay
Men Do Read
Narvie J. Harris Elementary School dads set example By Joshua Smith
DECATUR—Charles White took off time from work as a store supplier with Schwan’s Food Service to read books to students at Narvie J. Harris Traditional Theme School. For White, reading to the students, especially his three children—Naijzee, Mikya and Josiah—was just another way to show that he, too, cares. “It’s time for men to step up to the INSIDE
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attention to things, unless it directly affects them. We’re trying to make sure people know how the new law will work. ” Officials say it is important to note that some vehicle owners will not be impacted by the new tax fee. For example, those who haven’t purchased a car will continue to pay the “birthday tax” on vehicles they currently own. Exemptions also will remain in tact for veterans such as those who have earned Purple Hearts or were Prisoners of War. These veterans currently don’t and won’t pay any tag taxes. In Rockdale, residents were invited recently to attend a “Tax Talk” to learn more about HB 386. Rockdale Tax Commissioner Rockdale Tax RJ Hadley said that he is planning to host Commissioner RJ Hadley a series of talks on the subject. “It’s important that people know the different options they have under the new law,” said Hadley, adding that he is especially concerned about buyers making “casual sales” transactions with non-dealers. Casual sales work like this: Someone buys a $5,000 car from an individual on March 2. The Georgia Department of Revenue, however,
Photo by Glenn L. Morgan/OCG News
DeKalb County Tax Commissioner Claudia G. Lawson and Brent Bennett , director of vehicle registrations, discuss the new tax bill.
determines the car is actually valued at $7,000. The buyer would be required to pay a title tax fee of 6.5 percent on $7,000—not $5,000—in order to get the car registered and titled in Georgia. The title tax fee would be paid to the county tax commissioner’s office—not the individual selling the car. However, if the vehicle is purchased from a dealer, the dealer charges the new title tax instead of sales tax and makes the
payment to the county, Hadley said. “The dealers will file the information and payment electronically. Those private individuals may think they only have to pay the title tax on what they actually paid for the car, but the value is determined by the Georgia Department of Revenue and some of
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Narvie J. Harris Principal Dr. Sean R. Tartt stands alongside fathers participating in the school’s fifth annual “Men Do Read Day” in Decatur.
plate and it starts here,” said White, who read books such as “Just Like Gibson” and “The Little Dog with Bad Breath,” to three classes. “Being in this society, women have held it down so long. It’s our turn now. Children, especially young males, need to see us in the schools so they can gain knowledge from us and grow.” Dads’ participation in schools has become a critical issue across America as schools and mentoring programs look to get more men involved in ways that women have traditionally been involved in raising children. Witness: One in three fathers set a poor example to his children by never picking up a book to read to them, according to the National Literacy Trust, an independent charity that works to improve reading, writing and listening skills. In a survey of 21,000 children ages 8 to 16, one in seven children told researchers they had never been shopping for a book, the
National Literacy Trust said. Narvie J. Harris started working on the problem five years ago when it first launched its “Men Do Read Day” with about 80 reading to children. Keeping men involved with their students has been a challenge, officials say. In October, Narvie Harris’ principal, Dr. Sean R. Tartt, and the school’s F.B.I. group (Fathers Being Involved) hosted a kick-off breakfast where 180 men dedicated themselves to helping students succeed. About half that number returned to the Decatur theme school for the Men Do Read Day, which was held Jan. 25. The 90 dads who read books stressed the importance of reading, why they enjoy reading and what reading can do for the students. Tartt said he was pleased with the turnout, though last year’s event drew more men— about 120. “It’s usually the aunts, mothers and
Photo by Joshua Smith/OCG News
grandmothers you see at the school, but it’s truly something special when you can see our fathers, our uncles, our grandfathers and godfathers, coming out to read to our children,” said Principal Tartt. Mae Sorell, the school’s reading specialist, says she is pleased to have dads like White come to school and read to students. “I have to thank our fathers and their bosses or supervisors for letting them get away from their jobs to be with us,” Sorell said. Narvie J. Harris is not the only DeKalb school working to keep dads active at. On Aug. 13, the first day of school, Chapel Hill Middle School hosted the “Million Father March” for dads to check in their students, help them locate their homerooms and direct traffic along the busy hallways.
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