NORWAY – The Budget Committee received good news recently when town manager David Holt reported the anticipated decline in motor vehicle excise tax revenue has not been as severe expected.

The excise tax is a major revenue source for Norway. Last year, it provided $585,000 to the town.

“So far, we haven’t seen the falloff we had anticipated,” Holt told the Budget Committee. “It’s really a pretty hard thing to guess.”

Holt said in February that because fewer new cars were being sold and people were re-registering older cars, he expected the excise tax the town receives would probably be reduced.

At that time, Holt told selectmen that based on fiscal 2009-10 numbers, he was projecting a loss of $60,000 for the next fiscal year. That number was reduced to $50,000, according to revenue projections in March.

Holt said the town receives the highest amount of excise tax the first year on a new car purchase and that amount is reduced for the next six years.

Holt said he suspects that incentives car dealers are offering are in part responsible for keeping up the sale of new cars. Additionally, he said, there is pending legislation designed to lower the amount people pay in excise taxes, which could affect the purchase of high-end cars and spur new car sales.

“Excise taxes can be quite shocking on the high-end cars,” he said.

The money is used largely for road repairs for Norway.

“It could be quite a challenge for towns to manage without these funds,” he said.

Holt said the town has also seen a reduction in other revenue sources such as in Planning Board fees since larger developments are simply not in the works at this time, he said.

State revenues are also expected to decline slightly, he said.

Many of the town’s other revenue sources – boat excise tax, recreation fees, veterans exemptions, building rentals and burial permits – are expected to be down this coming fiscal year.