Mike Rainville, of Warwick, who is angry about the car tax, stands next to his Jeep. Warwick expects to raise an additional $8 million by lowering its exemption from $6,000 to $500.

The Providence Journal / Ruben W. Perez

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Alan Roberts, of Pawtucket, with his wifes 2010 Ford Mustang and his 2009 Ford F-150 pickup in his driveway. He is facing a tax bill of $4,000 for three vehicles and two campers.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

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The Providence Journal / Kris Craig

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There was a time when Alan Roberts’ biggest tax worry was his house, a white ranch that the City of Pawtucket has assessed at $180,000.

Not anymore.

This year, his biggest worry is the cars.

While the latest bill for the house came to about $2,700, the tax bill for the cars he and his wife drive — a 2006 Ford Ranger pickup, a 2009 Ford F-150 pickup and a 2010 Ford Mustang GT — came to about $3,600.

That’s not all. Roberts is also being taxed $400 for two campers — a three-year-old travel trailer and an 18-year-old tent trailer that he keeps registered for his son.

“It’s outrageous,” said the 58-year-old equipment manager. “We went from an eighteen-hundred-dollar tax bill last year to four thousand.”

Roberts is not alone.

Across Rhode Island, thousands of car owners will pay larger excise tax bills this year, or pay for the first time, as cash-strapped cities and towns lower their exemptions on motor vehicles to raise additional tax dollars.

Last year, when state lawmakers allowed cities and towns to reduce the standard $6,000 exemption to as low as $500, 27 communities took advantage. This year, four more are following suit, and three that cut their exemptions last year are cutting them again.

The tax scheme is shifting an added burden onto well-to-do people with expensive cars and onto lower-income

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