TO THE EDITOR:
With privilege comes responsibility. Students who sign voter registration cards declaring themselves as residents of Chapel Hill/Orange County need to realize that this signed declaration of residency triggers other legal steps if you own an automobile.
As a new Orange County resident, N.C. law requires you to register your vehicle using your Orange County address. You can then expect to receive your property tax bill within 90 days after that change to your car registration.
If your car was previously registered outside of N.C., you will have to obtain a N.C.-issued driver’s license 30 days after residency, get your vehicle tested for emissions, pay a 3 percent highway use tax, pay for a new N.C.-issued car title and registration (within 60 days), obtain the minimum liability insurance and later pay the city and county property taxes.
That is the law.
You cannot claim residency in Orange County for voting convenience
and simultaneously claim residency elsewhere for tax
avoidance. Compliance is not just the law, it’s also the right thing to do.
Perry Collette ’84
Chapel Hill
