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 ...
What if I buy a new pickup, and then 8 months later move to Maine to live
They gonna charge me sales tax on my pickup?
What if I buy a new boat, and then move to Maine?
If they would work as hard at saving money as they do at thinking up stupid tax schemes like this, they would, well, be out of work.
guess the people that have the money to spend in Maine need to stop going there and start spending it elsewhere
In which case the Maine tax court will enter a judgment against you and file a lien against the title to your plane which your home state will almost certainly honor. And if your state doesn't honor it some state you fly to will.
“Taxation without representation. Seems to me we had little dustup about that once a long time ago. Of course, our testicles have atrophied quite a bit since then.”
Isn’t that the truth.
Kinda like those Duke LaCrosse players... This time, the authorities messed with someone with money.
Oh man, that's just pathetic. I actually stayed in Cali-Mexicali for a few days after we had a board meeting in San Diego. We all drove on down there, but that was in Mexico.
Another time I spent 10 days deep sea fishing off the coast of Guymas, at a Mexican fishing village in 1987, so I guess they'll want interest on that too? LOL
Well, someone has to pay to support the nest of Somali Muslims that has located itself in Maine.
Yeah, I think many Americans are starting to crave tea.
Maine for the most part doesn't bother transient boat owners who are cruising the coast during the summer ... unless you park your boat in one place for an extended period. I have personal experience where CT is concerned ... having lived there for a number of years. I would move my boat, which was properly registered in the state, up and down the coastline over the course of the summer. This allowed me to explore new areas on weekends by driving to my boat. Problem was with the local towns seeing my boat parked for a week or two at a marina (in their jurisdiction) and wanting to assess property tax on it. This usually required that I had to prove I had already paid it somewhere else ... which was a pain in the butt.
Here is a link to the gift card Maine is claiming $60 of their $100 value if unused for two years or more. The state of Maine ought to be cut off of all federal funds until they straighten up.
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071223/NEWS02/230962347/0/columnists
Moral; don’t be dishonest to begin with...keep your beebers clean.
It would never occur to most people that they must research ridiculous tax laws in any state that they might visit on vacation.
It's particularly nasty that they went after at least one pilot, because he had visited the state numerous times in the process of providing free medical transport to residents who needed it.
what then would stop ME or any other state from taxing a car that was bought, is owned and garaged in another state, but driven to (in this case) ME many times over the course of the year?
Think of IL residents who spend much of their summer in MI or WI. Or CA residents who spend winter weekends in Lake Tahoe, NV.
In economically depressed ME, one would think it would not serve the state’s interest to enforce a law that would discourage its one worthwhile industry, tourism (at least in summer).
Not that seeing MA residents taxed in this case really upsets me ;)
Besides, some want to be pilots.
THIS should get them some cheaper planes.
What do you think? They'll start with "luxury" cars, of course. :-)
I'll have to add Maine and Florida to the list of places that I'll never visit. Unfortunately, I have relatives in Washington, I'll have to be careful there.
Comparing Maine to Mississippi is an insult to Mississippi.
Scary attitude. It says basically that the govt is our master and we should just accept it.
Baloney, the people need to throw the rascals out.
What if he didn’t own the plane? Are you expected to pay sales taxes for bringing rental vehicles into the state? He needs a lawyer to set up a holding company to own that plane in a tax-free state, and then he can rent the plane from the holding company he owns.
Moreover, imagine he visited a dozen other states for extended periods each year. That could add up to nearly a 100% sales tax per year, for several years.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.