Fourteen people were charged in a tax-evasion scheme tied to the Bay Area that allegedly concealed the purchase of over $20 million in luxury cars, state authorities said Friday.
The charges come as part of the state’s broader crackdown on car buyers and dealers exploiting the “Montana Loophole” — a strategy to avoid California’s high levies on luxury cars by plating them in Montana, which has no statewide sales tax.
The defendants – some of whom are from Alameda, Marin, Santa Clara and Sacramento counties as well as Oakland – used the loophole to dodge more than $1.8 million in taxes, according to the California Attorney General’s Office. Beginning in 2018, the defendants allegedly prepared and submitted false records to show that the cars were purchased for use out of state, but drove and stored them in California, authorities said…