Posted on 12/30/2007 1:49:31 PM PST by Daffynition
PORTLAND, Maine - When Steve Kahn got a $26,000 tax bill on his airplane, he thought Maine Revenue Services had made a mistake. Kahn lives, works, and keeps his plane in Massachusetts.
But the bill was no error. It was part of the agency's efforts to collect taxes on aircraft owned by out-of-state residents, even though they bought their planes elsewhere and brought them to Maine only to visit.
A number of other states, from Florida to Washington, are doing the same as they grapple with budget shortfalls and as the Internet makes it easier to track the comings and goings of aircraft.
Many pilots are outraged.
"At best what Maine is doing is underhanded and devious; at worst it is illegal," Kahn said. "Either way, it's wrong."
Maine officials say they are simply enforcing the state's laws when they send bills, into six figures, to out-of-state plane owners.
At issue in Maine is the state's use tax, which applies to many goods and services bought out of state that are not subject to sales tax. In the case of airplanes, tax officials say, the law allows them to collect a 5 percent use tax from people who did not pay sales taxes on their planes if they brought their plane to Maine for more than 20 days, excluding time for maintenance and alterations, in the first year of ownership.
"We're charged with administering the law," said David Bauer, a tax policy analyst with Maine Revenue Services. "We didn't write it."
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Maine is New England's Appalachia.
Does this apply to people who drive their cars to Maine to visit? Will they tax their cars if they stay for a month or longer? IF I were that man, I would tell them to shove their tax bill and I would NEVER go to Maine again!! I won’t go to Maine because I don’t want to get a tax bill for some idiotic tax they might claim I owe! They’re going to lose a lot of tourist business over this.
This reminds me of Romney "not raising taxes" in MA. He just got creative with fees, like the NY and NJ guys.
Suprised? I'm not. I bet the plane purchasers have a bit more pull with the legislature thatn the car purchasers.
Who in their right mind visits Maine anyway? It is a frozen quasi-Socialist economic backwater, News England’s answer to Mississippi.
Some of the cockamamie tax schemes he has prosed are from the twilight zone. Maine is already the highest taxed state - yet way down the totem pole per capita income. He has about bled us dry - can't seem to squeeze another penny out of empty pockets - so now they're turning to this?
Maine's largest 'industry' is tourism. As well, many of the larger businesses that provide jobs here are from out of state companies from which the high mucky mucks fly their private/corp helos and planes up from their home state.
Along with the most punitive workers comp in the nation for business = this ought to keep a lot more outfits from locating in Maine - and cut down considerably on those currently coming here.
What next? Tourists come to vacation, go home and get a use tax bill on their car? Not a far stretch from that to this tax on planes.!
It would appear that the state revenue goons have discovered that the federales are keeping total tracking data on the comings and goings of every N number out there. A rich source of well heeled tax victims, provided free of charge by the feds. Just a speculation.
Very true.Our 90% RAT controlled legislature has been making the tax laws here for years and we all know that the RAT Party is the Party of the working stiff.
Hunh, the planes are kept out of state. Are you proposing Massachusetts make war on Maine over this issue?
When you figure out a way it can be done from in front of the TV/computer. LOL I'm afraid apathy is going to be the death of America.
There's only a handful of them and millions of us and yet, we let them walk all over us. Our forefathers would have dragged the traitors out of their office and hanged them long before now.
Maine is shooting themselves in the foot. If they keep this up, it will reduce the number of people who fly to Maine for business or vacations. They will go elsewhere and Maine will suffer for it.
Do they have a similar tax on new car and new boat owners?
It can get WORSE! If you never even lived in Mexa-Cali, but went there, maybe for a week or so for a special project for your company, Cali now wants part of your RETIREMENT PAY! LOL. The GREED of Big Gov!
Money-grubbin bastids.It's New England....I believe the correct term is:
Money grubbin Bahstahds.
EXACTLY....we once got a bill for taxes on the sale of some stock (company) that was headquartered in New York....we live in WA, the State.....needless to say....they never heard from us....
Lots and lots of people from Maine live and work in MA while keeping their State of Maine license plates, registrations, and insurance.
Suckers should clean up that mess before going after tourists who are important to their economy.
I wonder how long until Main sends tax bills to plane owners that overflew but never landed.
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