BIRD TALK

Dear Bird Talk,

Two winters ago, I did not travel to Florida because my wife Alma was being treated for cancer (and passed away), so I cancelled the insurance on the automobile that I keep in Florida. When I went to the local licensing office in Bradenton to renew my “tag,” I was shunted from one clerk to the next until I demanded to know “what is going on.” I was told “you did not turn in your licence plate when you cancelled your insurance, therefore you must pay a fine of US$150 in order to renew.” Last fall, when I turned in the plate, I demanded that the clerk/office inform the “powers to be in Tallahassee that I turned in the plate.” The response was, “oh we do not do that.” By the way, they do not hold the plate; it is a new one every time you renew in that manner. Also, you cannot just put it on a minimum “fire & theft” as we do here in Ontario. You can only reduce the figure by about 30% and the insurance on the same vehicle was twice as much in Florida as it was in Ottawa!

I have been trying to raise this matter with the CSA for action for some considerable time, but to date have had no clear acknowledgement or response!

H Splett
Ottawa, ON

Response:
Ed.: Hello Harry, it’s nice to hear from you again. We have generally found that you will get a different answer from every clerk in one of these tax offices. They really do not know how to deal with us, the foreigners. I would try going to a different tax office to see if you can get a different response. The CSA is aware of these and many other similar issues but, for now, we are concentrating on the Snowbird Visa.