Nobody anywhere pays sales tax on a used vehicle. Its a "use tax". The politicians who crafted that wanted to cover their asses with the wording.

 

RaSh,
I think clarification is needed. If he already owns it and it was already registered in another state he pays no taxes; he is just transferring registration from one state to another. If he owns it and never registered it somewhere else, he needs to pay taxes in accordance with the bill of sale, or fair market price if the DMV thinks your BOS has too low of a price. This is typical of buying a used bike from a private party in another state and then registering it in NY.
If he buys a bike new in another state, it is common for the dealer to tax you at your state's tax rate. If they do not, then you will pay when you register at NYSDMV.
Sorry for any misunderstanding on my part.

 

Not so. New York State DMV specifically calls is a Sales Tax. There are even forms that say that.

 

Stash905,
"If he already owns it and it was already registered in another state he pays no taxes; he is just transferring registration from one state to another."

Thanks for addressing that question.

A friend who moved to NY from Pa. (40 years ago! Holy Crap!), merely transferred his cars to the NY system when they became due, but a lot has changed in the intervening years and I was no longer confident that this was still true.

Governments everywhere are short money, and it seems as though things change to fill that void constantly.

 

Right!