NEWS From BoatU.S.
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
BoatU.S. News Room at http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864,
Date: March 9, 2006

SURVEY REVEALS GREAT DISTASTE FOR PRESIDENTIAL TAX PANEL'S
PROPOSAL TO END SECOND HOME MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION

It should come as no surprise that most Americans are skeptical when
the government says it would like "to fix" the tax code. Such was the
case recently as 75 percent of those responding to a BoatU.S. online
survey said they were opposed to a proposal by the President's Advisory
Panel on Tax Reform to end the mortgage interest deduction for all
second homes, which includes boats that have sleeping quarters, cooking
and toilet facilities.

Fully 55 percent of those responding said that elimination of the
deduction would cause them not to buy a boat they would otherwise
purchase. Another 51 percent said they would not buy a boat if the
deduction for interest on home equity loans was eliminated.

"The survey results should be a wake-up call for the boating industry,"
said Michael Sciulla, senior vice president of BoatU.S. government and
public affairs.

"Like the federal luxury tax of the early 1990's, the elimination of
the mortgage interest deduction for boats will cripple an industry that
is already facing serious challenges that include an increasing loss of
access to the water, high fuel prices, and stagnant growth," he noted.

The tax reform panel released its report last October. Treasury
Secretary John Snow was supposed to review the report and make
recommendations to President Bush by the end of 2005 so that the
President could present them to Congress.

In a speech earlier this week at Stanford University, Snow said the
Bush administration wants to forge ahead with a major revamping of the
tax code, but that no timetable had been established.

BoatU.S. - Boat Owners Association of The United States - is the
nation's leading advocate for recreational boaters providing its
640,000 members with a wide array of consumer services. For more
information about BoatU.S., visit http://www.BoatUS.com

This would definitely not be a good thing. Not just for the boating industry but the housing industry as well. Purchases of vacation homes/condos would probably drop off as well. Hopefully Boat US will exercise their full power and leverage and fight these changes.

Even if the changes were to become law I would still hang on to my boat, of course it would probably be a moot point as selling it might be difficult at best.

wrote in message
...
On 12 Mar 2006 15:36:23 -0800, wrote:

NEWS From BoatU.S.
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
BoatU.S. News Room at http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864,
Date: March 9, 2006

SURVEY REVEALS GREAT DISTASTE FOR PRESIDENTIAL TAX PANEL'S
PROPOSAL TO END SECOND HOME MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION


I do understand how a person who is struggling to pay one mortgage
doesn't want their tax dollars subsidizing someone's 2d home (or
yacht)

What about they hourly guys that build those yachts? What about the hourly
guys that build those houses. What about the hourly guys that perform
maintenance on the boats and houses and their contents? It might not be fair
but, it does keep the economy moving along.

Bert Robbins wrote:
wrote in message
...
On 12 Mar 2006 15:36:23 -0800, wrote:

NEWS From BoatU.S.
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
BoatU.S. News Room at http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864,
Date: March 9, 2006

SURVEY REVEALS GREAT DISTASTE FOR PRESIDENTIAL TAX PANEL'S
PROPOSAL TO END SECOND HOME MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION


I do understand how a person who is struggling to pay one mortgage
doesn't want their tax dollars subsidizing someone's 2d home (or
yacht)

What about they hourly guys that build those yachts? What about the hourly
guys that build those houses. What about the hourly guys that perform
maintenance on the boats and houses and their contents? It might not be fair
but, it does keep the economy moving along.

We know from experience that it doesn't take too much tinkering with
the tax code to have a serious impact on the boating industry. When
the ill-advised "luxury tax" went into effect for a few years in the
early 90's, the construction of new boats plummeted.

Our entire tax system is an excellent example of government run amuck.
When the income tax was first introduced, the rate was about 1% of all
income. Pretty simple.
Now the tax law fills an entire bookshelf, and is used for social
engineering. Many people pay about 50% of their income to the
government in a combination of federal, state, and local taxes- and the
"self employed" pay more when the additional 7.5% for FICA is added in.
(And the government *still* doesn't collect as much as it spends!)
Heck, we're all just sharecroppers on the government farm. (Good thing
we don't live in a socialist country where we'd all just be
sharecroppers on the government farm...........)

As sharecroppers, I guess we're entitled to subsidized housing. The
government subsidizes housing directly for people in the lowest
economic classes with free or cut-rent apartments in "the projects".
The government subsidizes housing for the middle and privileged classes
as well, forgiving the tax on any income used to pay for mortgage
interest.

The funny thing is that the mortgage deduction was originally designed
to help make home ownership more affordable. It hasn't worked. Buyers
routinely calculate the number of "real" or after tax dollars needed to
pay for the monthly housing bill, and will spend as many as they can
afford- or more- and as a result the price of property is bid up for
everybody. I'd hazard a guess that housing prices across the nation
would probably be 20 - 25% less if mortgage interest were not
deductible, so after a painful adjustment period where RE values would
decline a bit real estate and home ownership would indeed be as or more
affordable than with the mortgage interest deduction.

Even if you save 30% of the interest through a tax deduction, you're
still peeing away 70% of the interest. Big mortgages for personal
consumption are ridiculously expensive.
A lot of people crowing about the amount their home has "appreciated"
would sing a different tune if they deducted the total amount of their
non-deductible interest expense from the paper profits and accept that
even if they do sell, they will then become "buyers" in the same red
hot, often overpriced, real property market. Net result of course is no
real gain- an equivalent property to the one just sold will cost all
the dollars they just collected and a nicer property will cost even
more.

It's surely possible to craft an argument in support of the current
policy of government subsidized housing for most Americans, (with the
exception of middle and privileged class renters or those who own a
home debt free). If, as a society, we choose to follow that course- and
for a couple of generations and through many different congresses and
administrations we have- we might want to consider whether the ski
lodges in Aspen, the 70-foot Westports, etc, should all be government
subsidized in addition to those taxpayers' primary residences.

After an adjustment period of no mortgage deductibility, prices for
used boats in particular would decline. We boat owners would all wail
and moan about the loss of "equity", but the upside is that the prices
of the boats we want to buy next will have declined as well. Prices
won't sink out of sight, as the lower cost of entry will bring a
greater number of people into boating and the increased demand will
help sustain a level of "realistic", economically defensible pricing
based on supply and demand rather than a machination of the tax code.

My theory: arrange your finances so that personal housing and all
personal consumption is debt free. That includes boats. Pay off the
investment real estate as soon as possible.
The government punishes me for this non-conformist behavior with a
walloping bill for AMT each year, but models where we rush out and
borrow a lot of money simply to save a portion of that interest on the
tax bill never pencil out as attractively.

Besides, there are a couple of dirty little secrets about boats. First,
they're not an investment in any way, shape, or form- they are an
expensive luxury. Second secret, there is no direct correlation between
the cost or LOA of a boat and the amount of fun one will have with it.
Folks forced to "settle" for a smaller and/or cheaper boat by a change
in the tax law would still go boating and still have as much fun as
they've ever had with clothes on.

wrote in message
oups.com...
NEWS From BoatU.S.
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
BoatU.S. News Room at http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864,
Date: March 9, 2006

SURVEY REVEALS GREAT DISTASTE FOR PRESIDENTIAL TAX PANEL'S
PROPOSAL TO END SECOND HOME MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION

It should come as no surprise that most Americans are skeptical when
the government says it would like "to fix" the tax code. Such was the
case recently as 75 percent of those responding to a BoatU.S. online
survey said they were opposed to a proposal by the President's Advisory
Panel on Tax Reform to end the mortgage interest deduction for all
second homes, which includes boats that have sleeping quarters, cooking
and toilet facilities.

Fully 55 percent of those responding said that elimination of the
deduction would cause them not to buy a boat they would otherwise
purchase. Another 51 percent said they would not buy a boat if the
deduction for interest on home equity loans was eliminated.

"The survey results should be a wake-up call for the boating industry,"
said Michael Sciulla, senior vice president of BoatU.S. government and
public affairs.

"Like the federal luxury tax of the early 1990's, the elimination of
the mortgage interest deduction for boats will cripple an industry that
is already facing serious challenges that include an increasing loss of
access to the water, high fuel prices, and stagnant growth," he noted.

The tax reform panel released its report last October. Treasury
Secretary John Snow was supposed to review the report and make
recommendations to President Bush by the end of 2005 so that the
President could present them to Congress.

In a speech earlier this week at Stanford University, Snow said the
Bush administration wants to forge ahead with a major revamping of the
tax code, but that no timetable had been established.

BoatU.S. - Boat Owners Association of The United States - is the
nation's leading advocate for recreational boaters providing its
640,000 members with a wide array of consumer services. For more
information about BoatU.S., visit http://www.BoatUS.com


With the new boat, I now qualify for the 2nd home mortgage deduction. But I
think it's ridiculous to extend the deduction to 2nd homes...or boats. I
couldn't care less if they got rid of it. I was buying the boat regardless.

The other proposal that came out of that think-tank was about getting rid of
much of regular home mortgage deduction for houses over a certain amount. I
am very much opposed to that idea, as people such as myself have structured
our budgets around that deduction. And how will they account for the fact
that homes in some regions of the country cost 10 times what they do in
other parts?

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 05:12:28 +0000, RGrew176
wrote:


This would definitely not be a good thing. Not just for the boating
industry but the housing industry as well. Purchases of vacation
homes/condos would probably drop off as well. Hopefully Boat US will
exercise their full power and leverage and fight these changes.

Even if the changes were to become law I would still hang on to my
boat, of course it would probably be a moot point as selling it might
be difficult at best.

Look at it this way. If you have problems struggling with paying your
own mortgage, would you really want to be subsidizing your neighbor's
condo in Miami Beach?

Personally, I think it should be eliminated.

Me too.

wrote in message
...
On 12 Mar 2006 15:36:23 -0800, wrote:

NEWS From BoatU.S.
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
BoatU.S. News Room at http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864,
Date: March 9, 2006

SURVEY REVEALS GREAT DISTASTE FOR PRESIDENTIAL TAX PANEL'S
PROPOSAL TO END SECOND HOME MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION


I do understand how a person who is struggling to pay one mortgage
doesn't want their tax dollars subsidizing someone's 2d home (or
yacht)

Ditto.

"Bert Robbins" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
On 12 Mar 2006 15:36:23 -0800, wrote:

NEWS From BoatU.S.
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
BoatU.S. News Room at http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864,
Date: March 9, 2006

SURVEY REVEALS GREAT DISTASTE FOR PRESIDENTIAL TAX PANEL'S
PROPOSAL TO END SECOND HOME MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION


I do understand how a person who is struggling to pay one mortgage
doesn't want their tax dollars subsidizing someone's 2d home (or
yacht)

What about they hourly guys that build those yachts? What about the hourly
guys that build those houses. What about the hourly guys that perform
maintenance on the boats and houses and their contents? It might not be
fair but, it does keep the economy moving along.

I find it hard to believe that people are buying boats just to qualify for
the second home mortgage deduction.

"Fred Dehl" wrote in message
...
"Bert Robbins" wrote in
:

What about they hourly guys that build those yachts? What about the
hourly guys that build those houses. What about the hourly guys that
perform maintenance on the boats and houses and their contents? It
might not be fair but, it does keep the economy moving along.

One's livelihood shouldn't be dependant on this or that anomaly of the tax
code.

True. We need to go with a flat tax income, no other taxes allowed. Pick a
percentage and the Federal, State and Local governments can fight over their
piece of that pie.

"NOYB" wrote in message
k.net...

"Bert Robbins" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
On 12 Mar 2006 15:36:23 -0800, wrote:

NEWS From BoatU.S.
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
BoatU.S. News Room at http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864,
Date: March 9, 2006

SURVEY REVEALS GREAT DISTASTE FOR PRESIDENTIAL TAX PANEL'S
PROPOSAL TO END SECOND HOME MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION


I do understand how a person who is struggling to pay one mortgage
doesn't want their tax dollars subsidizing someone's 2d home (or
yacht)

What about they hourly guys that build those yachts? What about the
hourly guys that build those houses. What about the hourly guys that
perform maintenance on the boats and houses and their contents? It might
not be fair but, it does keep the economy moving along.

I find it hard to believe that people are buying boats just to qualify for
the second home mortgage deduction.





Bingo. And if they stop buying them because the deduction is eliminated
then I guess they really could not afford them in the first place. ;-)