AccidentTax.com is a Web site opposed to the practice of municipalities charging accident response fees when police or fire department personnel respond to a traffic accident. The role of the police and fire department should be to serve and protect not serve and collect. An additional fee for emergency services creates a hidden tax - we call it the "Accident Tax." 

Los Angeles Times Speaks Out Against Accident Response Fees
A growing number of California cities are considering ordinances that would allow them to charge a fee if the fire department is called to respond to a traffic accident.   The Los Angeles Times in an editorial July 26, called the idea "absurb."  Read More>>

Sacramento Crash Tax Proposal Advances to Full City Council
The Sacramento City Council's law and legislation committee approved an ordinance to place a "crash tax" on non-city residents who get into accidents inside city limits that require emergency response and sent it on to the full city council for consideration.  The Association of California Insurance Companies testified in opposition to the proposed city "crash tax" ordinance.  ACIC President Sam Sorich testified that the ordinance would hit auto insurance consumers with higher costs in the form of either new taxes or increased insurance rates.  Read More>>

Sacramento Bee Opposes Crash Tax -- Says It Adds Insult to Injury
The Sacramento Bee has spoken out in opposition to crash tax and published an editorial "Nix bad idea to bill for crashes."  The editorial writer asks, "Does the capital of California - which should welcome visitors and tourists with open arms - really want to become known as a place that gouges drivers who have an accident?" Read More>>

Based on the story by Sacramento Bee reporter Tony Bizjak, the paper has published two editorials opposing accident response fees and now the state capital's public radio station featured a commentary by one of the Bee's editorial writers Foon Rhee saying that accident response fees are a "really bad idea."  Listen or Read More>>

Read the Bee's Editorial and Bizjak's article 

California Remains Focal Point in the Accident Tax Debate
For more on accident response fees in California check out http://www.calcrashtax.com/

Denver Crash Tax Proposal Crashes
The Denver Daily News reports that the proposal to charge a fee to at fault non-resident drivers who are involved in an accident came to a crashing end July 21^st  when City Council members decided to shelve the controversial proposal.  Read More>>

Police Response May Cost You in Amberly Village Ohio
Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Amberly Village collects on only 20 percent of crash tax bills. Mary Bonelli, spokeswoman for the Ohio Insurance Institute, said it's not fair to expect insurance companies to cover police service costs when they don't collect premiums for them. "It would be like paying for regular gas when you pumped premium into your tank," she said.  Read More>> 

The Cincinnati Enquirer has also reported that North College Hill will be joining Amberly Village in charging accident response fees.  Steve Bailey, president of the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police and police chief of Clermont County's Miami Township, said in the news article that the practice of billing insurance companies and motorists for accidents caused by non-residents seems unfair.   Read More>>

Budget Crunches Lead to "Back Door Accident Taxes
To offset declining governmental budgets, some local communities are seeking to build new revenue streams by instituting accident response fees that charged when police or fire fighters respond to a traffic accident. However, public safety is a basic role of government paid for by property and other local taxes. 

In those communities where accident response fees are charged, it is unwise public policy to require additional funding for first-responders when the public is already paying for these services.  Since local municipalities calculate their tax structure based on the services provided, adding charge backs as a source of revenue is a form of double taxation.  In other words, the accident response fees levied by local governments on their constituents amount to nothing more than redundant "back door" taxes. 

Help us warn other drivers by spreading the word about these fees. Sign up to help fight the Accident Tax!