DMV Fees

The California state budget (Aug. 8) does not provide any tax relief for taxpayers, but includes a $50-million tax increase. The $1 fee for renewing car registration, plus additional fees imposed by the Department of Motor Vehicles, amounting to $50 million, is an insult to our intelligence. Do the legislators believe that we are too dumb to realize that DMV fees are just another tax? The latest DMV scam--you may skip your smog check for a fee, if the vehicle is under two years old--is simply extortion.

Californians have paid millions for a DMV computer system that does not compute and some staff members are fraudulently issuing driver’s licenses (Aug. 4). Don’t you think it is time to clean the DMV house?

JUDY EDGE

Santa Ana