Va. Senate Committee Votes Unanimously to Repeal Abusive-Driver Fees

Del. Vivian E. Watts (D-Fairfax) said she agreed to vote for the House bill after being assured that the DMV could handle the change and perhaps collect the taxes by mail or online.

"Any leftover details can be worked out," she said. "I wasn't going to vote for it if I didn't think there was a reasonable opportunity for these things to be worked out."

Car dealers do not want to collect the additional regional tax because of the work it requires and because customers could confuse the tax as part of the car price.

Dealers already collect a 3 percent sales tax for the state, which can be financed as part of a car sale.

If a vehicle was bought privately, regardless of where, the fee would be paid when the car was registered. About half of Virginians buy their cars through dealers. More than half a million vehicles were sold in Northern Virginia in 2006.

Staff writer Sandhya Somashekhar contributed to this report.