Records show that State House District 94 Republican candidate Cheryl Bean may have used a shell company called Dos Frijoles to avoid paying the Texas sales tax on her new SUV.
For most Texans who buy a new car, registering the vehicle with the county tax assessor-collector and putting on Texas tags is routine. Nothing special. It’s what you’re supposed to do to abide by the law and drive legally.
So it was odd last week when State House District 94 Republican candidate Cheryl Bean posted prominently on Facebook about putting Texas tags on her new Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. She included a picture of herself grinning and pointing to the standard Texas license plate like it was a new grandchild.
Bean had been driving the Wrangler around the Metroplex with Montana plates and only made the move to get Texas tags after comments appeared in social media speculating that she was dodging paying her fair share of taxes.
So, it wasn’t pride or excitement motivating Cheryl Bean to get new tags, it was concern that she had been caught trying to pull off what’s known as the “Montana Tax Loophole.”
What is the Montana Tax Loophole?
There is no sales tax on cars bought in the state of Montana. Here in Texas, we pay a 6.25 percent sales tax on car purchases.
To dodge the Texas sales tax, some people engage in an elaborate process of forming a shell corporation in the state of Montana. They then purchase a new vehicle through the corporation rather than under their own name, thus avoiding paying Texas sales tax. It appears that is exactly what Cheryl Bean and her husband did to dodge paying over $3,200 in Texas sales taxes on the Jeep Wrangler bought for $51,455.
A search of the Montana Motor Vehicle Database reveals that the Wrangler was purchased by a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) called Dos Frijoles LLC (Two Beans) that is registered in the State of Montana. Another Montana company called Action Services LLC that specializes in registering vehicles through shell corporations was used to manage the transaction and appears as the agent to further hide the identity of the actual owners/drivers.
The connection to Cheryl Bean, of course, is obvious because she is in possession of the vehicle and had been driving it around the Metroplex with Montana tags. In addition, Dos Frijoles LLC shares an address in Benbrook, Texas with a business owned by Bean and her husband called B Smart Builders.
Cheryl Bean Owes Voters an Explanation
Bean is seeking a seat in the Texas Legislature where taxes will be one of the most prominent issues dealt with by state leaders in Austin. Bean needs to provide a detailed rundown on how she came into possession of her new Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. She needs to confirm that she has now paid the full Texas sales tax due. And she needs to explain why she used the sleazy Montana Tax Loophole to try and avoid paying her fair share.
Voters are Finally Learning About Cheryl Bean
Arlington and mid-cities voters didn’t know much about Cheryl Bean when she moved from far west to far east Tarrant County to run in House District 94. But, since then, her endorsement from divisive MAGA County Judge Tim O’Hare and backing from white nationalist, anti-government groups like True Texas Project have made clear that Bean sits squarely within the hate wing of the Republican Party. And Bean proved the point earlier this summer when she posted a series of racially divisive memes and other graphics so offensive that a citizen petition was circulated calling for her removal from a local school board.
So over the summer Cheryl Bean confirmed her MAGA bona fides on extremism and divisiveness. Now she’s checked the MAGA corruption box by engaging in a sleazy out-of-state tax dodge.
