Or, to put it another way, York County officials are asking residents to report people who live in York County but drive cars with out-of-state license plates.

The county has no way of estimating exactly how many residents fail to register their vehicles in South Carolina, but the number is certain to be significant. Many of us see neighbors driving vehicles with North Carolina tags every day.

Those folks may just be careless, but more likely they hope to save money. The property tax on a car worth $15,000 is about $378 in Rock Hill, almost exactly twice as much as the $188 a car owner would pay in Charlotte. Insurance costs also are higher on average in South Carolina than in North Carolina.

While these people may pat themselves on the back for saving money, they are not paying local vehicle taxes. Tax revenues that should be going to the county and school districts are going to North Carolina instead.

Now, county officials hope local residents will help them crack down on vehicle tax violators. They ask residents to call a toll-free number -- (866) 274-4993 -- to anonymously report an out-of-state tag.

County staffers will check tax records to see if the vehicle's owner has a primary residence in the county. If the owner does live here, the county auditor will send the resident a certified letter explaining property tax laws and asking the resident to contact the auditor's office.

If there is no response after 15 days, a second letter will be sent, including the section of the state law that says vehicles must be registered in the state and what enforcement procedures are. If there still is no response after 15 more days, the county will contact the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles and request that the individual's driving privileges be revoked.

Added up, that is 45 days the resident has to comply with the law. That is the same time limit newcomers to the state are given to register their vehicles. In other words, violators will be given plenty of breathing room before the county notifies the state.

But tax violations almost certainly represent a significant loss of revenues for the county. And local residents should resent the fact that some of their neighbors are cheating.

In all likelihood, the northern part of the county, where folks live in South Carolina but commute to work in North Carolina, is a prime area for tax cheats. If car owners spend much of their day in Charlotte, it may not be so obvious that they have the wrong tags.

We hope local residents will make the effort to call when they see a tax violator. That tax money should stay here.