BRIEFS. public services

License plate fee could be driven up

Municipal officials recently approved that as of January 2009, car owners will see a $1 increase in the road tax in the district of Panama to compensate for the ever increasing cost of license plate production.

The city council is currently evaluating the proposal, which, if adopted, could affect upward of 300,000 vehicles, the estimated number currently circulating the city’s transportation grid. Additionally, another 35,000 cars were registered this year.

Municipal treasurer Mario Miranda explained that the measure would cover the high manufacturing costs of license plates, which are made at the Chapala Vocational School.

Miranda said that the municipality was simply responding to the manufacturer’s complaints that they were absorbing the mounting costs without altering the value of the license plate. He added that the measure was not adopted this year, however, because the budget had already been approved.