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.

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!

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

Especially when CA is running such an enormous deficit.

Everybody who exploits a weird loophole, (like not bringing the new yacht
across the state line until the 91st day) is merely transfering his portion of
the total tax burden to somebody else- often somebody who will struggle far
more to pay it.

If we can convince our state and federal governments to curtail spending, we
can then extend meaningful, permanent, fiscally sound tax cuts to everybody-
not just a class of folks with enough money to buy a yacht and spend 90 days
cruising out of state. :-)

Boat owners typically rely on a host of state-funded services. Purchasers of
larger boats aren't all that worried about launch ramps- but floats and mooring
buoys in marine parks- (not to mention the marine parks!)- are often state
funded. Boat owners fish for salmon and other species that only manage to
survive because state fisheries departments regulate catch, encourage
propagation, and slow down the environmental degradation of spawning streams
and other aquatic infrastructure.

"Gould 0738" wrote in message
...
Ahh...tax dodges...
Nothing like NOT paying your fair share on discretionary purchases, eh?

Especially when CA is running such an enormous deficit.

Everybody who exploits a weird loophole, (like not bringing the new yacht
across the state line until the 91st day) is merely transfering his
portion of
the total tax burden to somebody else- often somebody who will struggle
far
more to pay it.

If we can convince our state and federal governments to curtail spending,
we
can then extend meaningful, permanent, fiscally sound tax cuts to
everybody-
not just a class of folks with enough money to buy a yacht and spend 90
days
cruising out of state. :-)

Boat owners typically rely on a host of state-funded services. Purchasers
of
larger boats aren't all that worried about launch ramps- but floats and
mooring
buoys in marine parks- (not to mention the marine parks!)- are often state
funded. Boat owners fish for salmon and other species that only manage to
survive because state fisheries departments regulate catch, encourage
propagation, and slow down the environmental degradation of spawning
streams
and other aquatic infrastructure.



Have to keep it out 6 months of the first year, not the whole year. And as
to a tax loophole, if it is there use it. And since a boat of these
proportions also qualifies as a house (has sleeping and cooking facilites),
why should there be a sales tax? House purchases do not have a sales tax,
and like houses boats pay an annual property tax. Same rate as a home. It
may depreciate, but so does the value of the boat. My $18,000 boat in
1995, still costs me about $150 year in property tax. The fuel taxes we pay
at on the water fueling stations also goes into the state waterways budget.
As to the F&G raising fish, etc. We pay a 10% tax on fishing gear, $35 in
license fees, and also pay to launch in most places. Where is the charge
for the public that hikes and animal watches on the public lands?

The RV community has taken "advantage" of this one for years too, and they
are screaming about it.

Its a BS thing Chuck, and its damn time California stopped it.

I know of no other state that permits this. Most, like Florida, permit an
OFFSET for tax paid in another jurisdiction, but California was UNIQUE in
allowing this kind of dodge ONLY for high-ticket, big-spender items
where folks could "gerymander" the purchase to avoid the sales tax.

IMHO this was a "fatcat" special interest piece of crap that needed to go
away a LONG time ago, gerrymandered by the Democrats in California - you
know, the party who claims to be "for the little guy"?

Yeah, them.

--
--
Karl Denninger ) Internet Consultant & Kids Rights Activist
http://www.denninger.net My home on the net - links to everything I do!
http://scubaforum.org Your UNCENSORED place to talk about DIVING!
http://www.spamcuda.net SPAM FREE mailboxes - FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME!
http://genesis3.blogspot.com Musings Of A Sentient Mind

In article ,
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.

On Sat, 11 Sep 2004 00:09:54 GMT, (Karl
Denninger) wrote:

The RV community has taken "advantage" of this one for years too, and they
are screaming about it.

Its a BS thing Chuck, and its damn time California stopped it.

I know of no other state that permits this. Most, like Florida, permit an
OFFSET for tax paid in another jurisdiction, but California was UNIQUE in
allowing this kind of dodge ONLY for high-ticket, big-spender items
where folks could "gerymander" the purchase to avoid the sales tax.

IMHO this was a "fatcat" special interest piece of crap that needed to go
away a LONG time ago, gerrymandered by the Democrats in California - you
know, the party who claims to be "for the little guy"?

Yeah, them.

In CT it's about as strange as it can get.

Let's say you have live in nearby MA five years and purchased a car
there with MA's 5% sales tax.

If you move to CT (6% sales tax) and register your car, you are liable
for the 1% difference no matter how long you've owned the car and the
tax is not figured on a used vehicle value, but on the purchase price
when new.

And to keep this boating related, if you have a boat purchased and
registered in RI, NY or MA and slipped in CT, you owe the state of CT
a "usage fee" equal to the 6% sales tax you would have paid if you
purchased the boat in CT.

We even have tax-the-tax in CT on items in which a tax, levied as part
of the purchase price, is charged a gross sales tax on the total
amount of the sale. :)

You just gotta love the ingenuity.

Later,

Tom
-----------
"Angling may be said to be so
like the mathematics that it
can never be fully learnt..."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler", 1653

On Sat, 11 Sep 2004 10:43:51 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

You just gotta love the ingenuity.

=============================

That's not what I call it, but I get your point.

What we need now is a "stateless" boat.

On Sat, 11 Sep 2004 09:04:20 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Sat, 11 Sep 2004 10:43:51 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

You just gotta love the ingenuity.

=============================

That's not what I call it, but I get your point.

What we need now is a "stateless" boat.

Well, see here in CT, if your boat is Federally documented, you still
need to pay the state "usuage tax" and get a sticker for - you guessed
it - equal to the value etc, etc, etc.... :)

And the following statement is not judgemental in any way - it is just
stating a fact.

This state is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democrat National
Committee and the Democrat Party. :)

Later,

Tom
-----------
"Angling may be said to be so
like the mathematics that it
can never be fully learnt..."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler", 1653