Sen. John Kerry, who has repeatedly voted to raise taxes while in Congress, dodged a whopping six-figure state tax bill on his new multimillion-dollar yacht by mooring her in Newport, R.I.
Isabel - Kerry’s luxury 76-foot New Zealand-built Friendship sloop with an Edwardian-style, glossy varnished teak interior, two VIP main cabins and a pilothouse fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage - was designed by Rhode Island boat designer Ted Fontaine.
But instead of berthing the vessel in Nantucket, where the senator summers with the missus, Teresa Heinz, Isabel’s hailing port is listed as “Newport” on her stern.
Could the reason be that the Ocean State repealed its Boat Sales and Use Tax back in 1993, making the tiny state to the south a haven - like the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Nassau - for tax-skirting luxury yacht owners?
Cash-strapped Massachusetts still collects a 6.25 percent sales tax and an annual excise tax on yachts. Sources say Isabel sold for something in the neighborhood of $7 million, meaning Kerry saved approximately $437,500 in sales tax and an annual excise tax of about $70,000.
The senior senator’s chief of staff David Wade denied the old salt was berthing his boat out of state to avoid ponying up to the commonwealth.
“The boat was designed by and purchased from a company in Rhode Island, and it’s based in Newport at the Newport Shipyard for long-term maintenance, upkeep and charter purposes, not tax reasons,” Wade told the Track.
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4 comments:
Typical do as I say not as I do Democrat !
Same kind of stuff all the rich do to get tax breaks. Don't try to paint this as Dem vs. Rep.
3:58
This is a very typical DEMOCRAT move.
Don't try top minimise it by say, "gosh they all do it" because that just isn't true.
John Kerry is a TYPICAL P.O.S. democrat eliteist!
He is a Viet Nam war hero POSER and a closet commie!
ok 6:36, so in your dream world, democrats hold a premium on tax dodging maneuvers. Republicans never take steps to reduce their tax bill, they are never involved in "ethically questionable" acts, and rich people in general don't search for tax shelters (unless of course they are Dem.). And you guys have the nerve to scream Kool Aid drinker at somebody else. LOL
No wonder you believed the "Swift Boat" BS ("..war hero poser") despite direct evidence to the contrary from Dept. of Navy. This week has really shown me that many of this blog's commentators have lost touch with reality.
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