T&T: Picking a State to Register Boat

[Candy Chapman and Gary Bell]

<snip>
ED:
There are three issues here...

Registration
Sales Tax
Property Tax

REPLY:  Yes, I quite agree, but taxation in this country is blindingly complex
because it is a political enterprise, the result of countless compromises
among a tremendously large field of groups and individuals, each with their
own set of values and each with their various powers to impose their will on
the public, all this fermenting along over our entire history, and concerning
one of the hottest aspects of government, namely the power of the government
to extract money from the individual for the 'greater good.'

ED:
There is almost certainly a registration fee of some sort in most, if not
all states and can vary by county.

REPLY:  Registration is usually done by a state agency, and while there are
probably exceptions I suppose that the registration component of whatever is
charged would not vary within a given state.  Where it does, it is likely a
hidden tax supporting counties/parishes/etc., perhaps justified by said
counties different needs to provide services and facilities.  Nevertheless, if
it is called a Registration Fee, that is what you will feel you are paying.

ED:
Sales tax is collected in most, but not all states. The number I came up
with a year ago that don't have a sales tax on boats is 4; Alaska, Delaware,
NH & RI.

REPLY:  Please add Oregon to the above list.  There are no sales taxes in
Oregon -- a 'third rail' hot political issue to this very day here.  We get
along on state income tax and property taxes (with sharp limits on the
property taxes).  The state Marine Board issues me a sticker every two years,
the sticker bears (in small print) my federal registration number, in place of
the state assigned number state registered boats get (and display).  As I
recall, I pay $58 for my 34 foot boat.

ED:
Property tax is not real common but it does exist and needs to be accounted
for.

There are plenty of variables with each of the three parameters.
Registration fees vary widely.
Sales tax is only charged once. But if you pay 4% in state A then move to
state B with a 6% sales tax, you may be liable for the extra 2%. One nice
thing about Florida is that if you've owned the boat for 6+ months, you
don't have to pay their sales tax, even if you never paid a sales tax. This
applies to non-Florida residents.
Property tax is very complex. SC & Va have very intricate laws that vary by
county.

REPLY:  Yes, for example my neighbor to the north Washington has property
taxes (which don't appear to apply to boats, at least in my league) and has
sales taxes, but no state income tax.  Both Washington and Oregon thus lack
one of the three traditional 'legs of the tax stool,' a situation which
creates lots of challenges for their respective governments to wrestle with.
Anyway, Washington levies its sales tax with a politically fixed amount for
the state government, and with a varied additional amount for each county.
They have what they call "In Lieu Sales Tax" on boats, meaning boats
registered elsewhere visiting Washington for more than ninety days are
required to pay the equivalent of Washington sales tax on the value of their
boat.  There are complexities in this system for some sort of extension which
brings the free time to six months in any year's time, as well as provisions
for suspending the time period for any boat being repaired in Washington.  I
believe they credit sales taxes paid in other states, but cannot tell from my
own experience.  I do know that they leave the enforcement to the counties,
who are eager to add some revenue from out of state 'yachtsmen,' who obviously
have more money than they ought to have.

Which brings me to something I would like to contribute to Ed's list,
RESIDENCE.  To register a boat in Oregon you must be an Oregon resident.  I
have to provide the Marine Board proof of said residence to register.  This is
not a trivial requirement, it for example subjects you to our state income and
property taxes, and must involve a real address at a real residence.  Driver's
license and voter registration are collateral issues.

I also have to register my dinghy, so long as it is powered, or longer than
eight feet.  So I have a state registered and numbered nine foot dinghy for my
federally registered boat.  We cannot just paint "Tender to ....." on it, it
gets the sticker and the whole regular state number.

More than enough said...

Regards,
Gary Bell