I have heard Massachusetts can and will issue citations for residents registering a trailer outside of mass if you live in mass and i have even heard of crackdowns and and impoundments if you get pulled over. That said i know many of my friends register in Maine since Mass trailer reg fees are criminal, and they have never been hassled nor have i when borrowing their Maine plated trailers. I do know Taxachusetts has cracked down on residents that live in Ma and register vehicles out of state (VT)with their vacation/camp addresses to avoid paying insurance and excise taxes. The Mass RMV is a criminal enterprise, just go register a classic car and you will find out. They tax private car and truck sales on NADA book values, sight unseen for average retail and when you buy a project classic car you get taxed on the future value of the car. I have paid more than a purchase price of a project vehicle in taxes more than once and its all legal. No way around it. Same is true for late models too. I was recently taxed on a $5500 NADA retail value on a truck i bought that needed major repairs that i paid $500 bucks for, hence the criminal actions of the state to tax on arbitrary values. Taxation without representation is alive and well here.
We use the Staab Agency to tag about 45 commercial trailers in Maine. Maryland got to be too expensive and only offered 1-2 year tags. We usually get 8-10 year plates from Maine for the same cost as 1-2 in MD. The really weird thing, (coming from a Maryland mindset) is that they will let you tag a trailer without titling the trailer. As long as it's over 10 years old, I believe, you just send them a copy of the existing title and they will tag it in your name. Here in MD tagging and titling go hand in hand. You can get a title without getting tags but you can't get tags without transferring the title.
My story is a little different but still shows how F'd up the government is. I built my own utility trailer at home, did all the fab work and welding myself. I went to the MTO with all the specs of the springs, axle, tires and steel tubing used for the frame to prove that the trailer was fit for the road and to see what "class" it would be registered under. I asked if they needed to see, weigh and inspect the trailer to determine it's class, I was told nope pay the $15 "home built" registration fee and the $75 for the plate and I'm good to go. So do I have to pay anything to keep it on the road I asked? Nope don't loose your plate they said??. Gotta love Ontario in one sense but it's scary to think that any old concoction can be registered and plated weather it's safe or not. Luckily for me I'm safety oriented when it comes to hauling loads, having a safe trailer and tow vehicle since my old man and all my grandpas and uncles are/were truckers. Plus when I build something I build it to last two lifetimes so I don't have to redo it again
I like Massachusetts and lived there longer then most of you have been alive. I wouldn't put it quite the way that it was above, but honestly I can't disagree with it either. When I titled my '27 Model T Ford, they extorted me taxes on $3,500 more then I actually paid for it. They go by blue book prices, and asking and selling prices are not the same. The Massachusetts RMV just assumes that you are lying about what you paid. I did not, and still was screwed by them. When dealing with the Massachusetts RMV, honesty does not pay.
