[C320-list] State proposes hiking boat fees (Maryland)

[Marshall Lucas]

It is a registration fee.  Don't mention personal property tax as our 
governor may over hear you.




Marshall & Diane Lucas
& The Merrythought Poodles
SV Merrythought C320 # 1037

On Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:34:24 -0600
  Dean Vermeire <dean at vermeire.us> wrote:
For those of us tuning in late, are you saying that
Maryland would raise the annual tax on a Catalina 320 to
around $250?  Is this a personal property tax, or in
addition to?

  Not that I want to live in Maryland, but that seems like
a bargain, compared to Kansas.

  Dean Vermeire
  Moonstruck II (#847)

  On 2/17/2012 10:29 AM, Marshall Lucas wrote:
>  I wonder if anyone writing this legislation knows anything about over all length as opposed to waterline length.
>
>
>
>  Marshall & Diane Lucas
>  & The Merrythought Poodles
>  SV Merrythought C320 # 1037
>
>  On Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:11:17 -0500
>   David Nolte <dcnolte at mac.com> wrote:
>   Good point Irv, does anyone know whether we would fall
>  into the $125 or $250 category, all of the article state:
>
>   16 feet to 32 feet: $125.
>   32 feet to 45 feet: $250.
>
>   Which are we? It doesn't say "less than" or "greater
>  than"
>
>   Anybody know?
>
>   Maybe I will apply for exemptions for boats more than 20
>  years old - hard to believe, but mine will be there soon!
>
>   David Nolte
>   Beach House #0004
>
>
>   On Feb 17, 2012, at 9:17 AM, Irving Grunes wrote:
>
>>   Isn't our C320 only 31 ft 11 and1/2 inches long to get under the 32 ft
>>   limit? .:0))
>>   Irv Grunes
>>   #851
>>
>>
>>   On Fri, Feb 17, 2012 at 8:59 AM, Allan S Field <allan.field at verizon.net>wrote:
>>
>>>   Or The People's Republic of Maryland...
>>>
>>>   Allan S. Field
>>>   Sent from my iPad
>>>
>>>   On Feb 16, 2012, at 3:58 PM, "Jim Sweet" <jamesweet at frontiernet.net>
>>>   wrote:
>>>
>>>>   Maryland should change its name to New York.
>>>>
>>>>   Jim Sweet
>>>>   TGIF (Thank God It Floats) 902
>>>>   ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Rickman" <
>>>   ilove2sail at verizon.net>
>>>>   To: <c320-list at catalina320.org>
>>>>   Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2012 3:53 PM
>>>>   Subject: [C320-list] State proposes hiking boat fees (Maryland)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>   They plan to raise the flush tax and add a frontage tax to your property
>>>>   taxes.
>>>>
>>>>   State proposes hiking boat fees
>>>>   -A A +A
>>>>   By 2016, fees would range from $50 to $700 depending on size of boat
>>>>   By Pamela Wood
>>>>   Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 11:21 am (Updated: February 16, 11:21 am)
>>>>
>>>>   It soon may become much more expensive to put a boat in the water in
>>>   Maryland.
>>>>   The Department of Natural Resources is proposing drastic increases in
>>>   boat registration fees to raise money for dredging, buoy maintenance,
>>>   ice-breaking and other water projects.
>>>>   “We do not have sufficient funds to support the needs that we have for
>>>   boating in Maryland,” said Bob Gaudette, who supervises boating programs
>>>   for the DNR.
>>>>   Right now, boaters pay $24 every two years to register their boats.
>>>>   Under the proposal, the registration fee would be multiplied many times
>>>   over, depending on the size of the boat.
>>>>   The fees would be phased in. By 2016, owners of small boats less than 16
>>>   feet would pay $50 every two years. Other fees would be $125 for boats from
>>>   16 to 32 feet, $250 for boats from 32 feet to 45 feet, and $500 for boats
>>>   from 45 feet to 65 feet. For the largest boats of all — more than 65 feet —
>>>   the fee would be $700.
>>>>   The fees would apply to boats that aren’t registered in Maryland, but
>>>   are state-documented vessels because they are primarily used here.
>>>>   The proposal removes an exemption for sailboats that don’t also have
>>>   motors. Under the proposal, all sailboats 16 feet or larger must register,
>>>   whether they have a motor or not.
>>>>   There also would be a new, voluntary registration for canoes, kayaks and
>>>   paddleboats that would cost $12 every two years. About 57,000 small,
>>>   nonmotorized boats would be eligible statewide.
>>>>   Anne Arundel County would be the state jurisdiction most heavily
>>>   affected by the new rules. There are 36,348 registered boats here, more
>>>   than in any other county.
>>>>   If boat ownership stays steady at about 200,000 boats, the new fees
>>>   would bring in $13.2 million per year. Right now, boating registration
>>>   generates $2.1 million for the state annually.
>>>>   But even the proposed increases wouldn’t be enough to plug the boating
>>>   services budget holes at DNR.
>>>>   The DNR’s boating programs get most of their money from the 5 percent
>>>   excise tax paid when boats are sold.
>>>>   As the economy has faltered, boat sales have plummeted. That means less
>>>   excise tax money going to the state.
>>>>   “I am completely at the whim of the marketplaces. If boat sales go up, I
>>>   have money. If boat sales go down, I don’t have money,” Gaudette said.
>>>>   But the state still has a long list of boating-related projects. That
>>>   list could soon get longer. The Army Corps of Engineers announced recently
>>>   that it can no longer afford as many dredging projects.
>>>>   The state has about $15 million available for boating projects each
>>>   year, but an annual list of $41 million worth of work.
>>>>   Even if the registration fee increases are approved by lawmakers, the
>>>   DNR still will be short.
>>>>   “This gets us a little less than halfway there,” Gaudette said. “We’re
>>>   not going for the moon here. We’re trying to cover the most critical of our
>>>   projects.”
>>>>   The projects include maintaining thousands of buoys, markers and signs;
>>>   maintaining 265 public boating channels; keeping channels free of ice in
>>>   the winter; having Natural Resources Police conduct boating safety checks;
>>>   removing abandoned boats; and maintaining public boating facilities.
>>>>   DNR officials acknowledged that they may face opposition. Lawmakers have
>>>   been wary of fee and tax increases and many are already frustrated about
>>>   Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposal to apply the 6 percent sales tax to
>>>   gasoline purchases.
>>>>   Olivia Campbell Andersen, the DNR’s lobbyist, said many boating fees
>>>   haven’t been changed in decades. And the money would go to projects that
>>>   will benefit those who pay the fees.
>>>>   “People recognize the great need for services that these funds provide,”
>>>   she said. “We want to keep boating thriving and safe in Maryland.”
>>>>   The proposal is being introduced to the General Assembly today. A
>>>   hearing has not yet been scheduled.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>
>