States target users of Montana tax shelters for cars, boats

April 29, 2025, 6:36 PM UTC

STATES ARE COMING FOR MONTANA license plates, which have become synonymous with tax shelters. In 2023, Montana was home to more than 2.3 million registered vehicles, but only 879,000 licensed drivers. That 2.68 vehicle-to-driver ratio is by far the highest among states and more than double the national average, according to a Bloomberg Tax analysis.

  • That means potentially hundreds of thousands of vehicles plated in Montana are parked and driven elsewhere, costing the other states billions of dollars in lost taxes and fees, according to state revenue officials.
  • States are now cracking down on residents hiding behind these tax shelters. ...

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