A Department of Revenue spokesman said Kerry would be liable for Massachusetts taxes if he berthed the boat in the Bay State within six months of its purchase. If the Isabel were brought to Massachusetts after that period, the state would have to decide if it wanted to pursue the taxes.
Massachusetts, like most other states, has been grappling with plunging tax revenues. Last year’s budget deficit was $600 million, and officials are bracing for a $1 billion deficit this year.
The Republicans of Massachusetts spoke out meekly to criticize Kerry’s cost saving measures.
“While we can fault the senator for his hypocrisy on taxes or having his boat built halfway around the world instead of here in the USA, John Kerry proves an important point that taxes in Massachusetts are too high. If they are too high for someone as rich as Senator Kerry, they are absolutely too high for working-class taxpayers who are being squeezed at every turn,” said a statement issued by party Chairwoman Jennifer Nassour.
~~~The 76-foot sloop has two cabins, a pilot house fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage, according to the Boston Herald, which first reported its Rhode Island berthing. It derives its moniker from the middle name of Kerry’s mother and the name his wife, Teresa Heinz, hoped to give a daughter.
Perhaps the Republicans are concerned over their own Senator Brown’s taxes on the pickup he drove around the state during his campaign.
Obviously, a $7,000,000 yacht can have warranty issues, so why bring it next door to Massachusetts when your wine cooler might break down. State Senators and yacht owners are faced with difficult decisions all the time. Kerry has decided that his cash strapped state must function without his personal dollars, only because of the frailty of an ocean going yacht that was built in New Zealand and sailed to Rhode Island for delivery.
Although Mike reported on this story originally, I found the views of Steve Dennis and his New Englander’s blog enlightening and informative, an update:
First the national issue: We have been told constantly that as Americans we have to sacrificemore for the common good. In this economic downturn the president has told us that we must face higher taxes in order to help those less fortunate than ourselves. From healthcare reform to the stimulus package, future American taxpayers are being asked to bear the burden of this regime’s out of control spending.
At one point during the campaign while in Oregon, Barack Obama was apologizing to the world for what he deems as Americans over extravagant lifestyles, Barack Obama stated that “we can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times.”
So while ordinary Americans are being asked to drop our standard of living by keeping our houses cooler in the wintertime by turning down our thermostats; and while Barack Obama has declared that we can’t eat as much as we want; and while Barack Obama claims that we the ordinary Americans can’t drive SUVs, John Kerry doesn’t have a problem with not only buying a brand new yacht-even as the president dissed us for driving what many families think of as a necessity, SUVs– John Kerry doesn’t have a problem with spending $7 million on a yacht, which nobody can claim is a necessity, while evading the taxes that he rightfully owes by registering it in a state that is not his home state. These politicians are telling us that we have to live by one set of standards while they live a totally unneccessary and extravagant lifestyle themselves. John Kerry is a perfect example of the double standard and hypocrisy that is prevalent in Washington today.
Second, the local issue: Last year Massachusetts decided to crack down on residents that were avoiding the Massachusetts sales tax by buying high end goods in tax free New Hampshire. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick decided to crack down on the state “use tax.”
Massachusetts requires its residents to report on their state income tax returns all goods purchased in New Hampshire that were to be used in Massachusetts, but because this law is unenforceable with Massachusetts residents, Massachusetts tried to sue a New Hampshire business in an attempt to make New Hampshire businesses collect Massachusetts sales tax for them when Massachusetts residents bought goods in New Hampshire. This was met with great resistance in New Hampshire. New Hampshire Governor John Lynch signed into law a bill that would exempt New Hampshire businesses from becoming tax collectors for the state on Massachusetts. Score– New Hampshire 1, Massachusetts 0.
It will be interesting to see if Massachusetts goes after John Kerry for avoiding Massachusetts taxes with the same zeal that they went after ordinary Massachusetts residents. Somehow I don’t think that will be the case. While John Kerry as a United States senator is not involved with the local politics of the state, he has been an advocate for the Obama regime’s tax increases. He has endorsed many of the Massachusetts politicians– including Deval Patrick– who support higher taxes, including the recent raising of the Massachusetts sales tax. By doing so he has also endorsed their tax increases.
Yet John Kerry looks to avoid paying higher taxes himself and this is a perfect example. When politicians like Barack Obama talk about sacrifice, and lowering the standard of living, they are talking about ordinary, hard working, middle class tax payers; they are not talking about themselves. They are unwilling to meet the expectations that they hold for us. And John Kerry’s tax avoidance is just the latest example of how Washington politicians are not willing to sacrifice for the common good themselves.
Our MSM has not purged itself of the Journolistas and why would anyone expect their editors to be so stupid they didn’t realize the blatant propaganda they churn out continuously as news; consequently, the facts and details of this story will be smothered like the Wright episode. Thus we will need to be more diligent than ever to find the truth in these news stories.
A professional horseman for over 50 years, Skook continues to work with horses. Skook has finished an historical novel, Fifty Thousand Years, that traces a mitochondrial line of DNA from 50,000 years ago to the present. The story follows a line of courageous women, from the Ice Ages to the present, as they meet the challenges of survival with grit and creativity. These are not women who whimper of being victims, they meet the challenges of survival as women who use their abilities without excuses or remorse, these women are winners, they are our ancestors.
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