Gould 0738 wrote:
Some residents of California have been circumventing the sales tax by taking
delivery of a vessel more than 12 miles offshore, cruising directly to Mexico,
and storing it in a marina for a ninety days. Under the old rules, this allowed
the purchaser to avoid paying sales tax because the boat had been owned and
operated outside of California for a minimum period of time. California buyers
also traveled north to Peget Sound, purchased boats here, cruised the Pacific
NW or SE Alaska for the summer before running down the coast in the fall to a
home port- also avoiding the sales tax.

New rules appear to require ownership of the vessel for at least 12 months
prior to
bringing it to California, and may be even more stringent than that as there is
apparently a clause that says a vessel is presumed to be purchased for use
within California if it is purchased by a California resident.

Got the following message this morning from the local brokers' association:

CALIFORNIA BUYER ALERT!

The California Legislature has recently changed its regulation regarding
purchases of vessels in California and purchases of vessels by residents of
California.

Firstly, a vessel is considered to be purchased for use in California if
bought by a California resident; if it is subject to the State's registration
or property tax during it first 12 months of ownership; or if it is used or
stored in the State for more than half of the time during its first 12 months
of ownership.

The new regulation does not apply to vessels purchased prior to October 1,
2004, or to vessels that are subject to binding purchase contracts entered into
prior to October 1, 2004.

This means, a non-resident may still purchase a vessel outside of California
and not be subject to the State's tax if the boat is used outside of the State
for more than half of the owner's first year of ownership , unless the vessel
is subject to the States property tax or vessel registration laws. A
non-resident may still purchase a vessel off-shore and immediately bring it
back into California and stay for up to, but not more than, 6 months (subject
to the property tax and registration requirements).

The old rule of a vessel being sales tax exempt if purchased and used outside
of California for more than 90 days is no longer true. After October 1, 2004,
a California resident will be subject to the sales or use tax if a purchased
vessel is brought into the State at anytime within the first year of ownership.

Once again, the changes go into effect on October 1, 2004, so any transaction
involving California resident must be closed or committed to with a binding
purchase contract prior to that date.





Ahh...tax dodges...
Nothing like NOT paying your fair share on discretionary purchases, eh?

--
Not dead, in jail, or a slave? Thank a liberal!
And don't forget to pay your taxes so the rich don't have to!