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 ...
Here’s the unasked question:
By what Orwellian means does the state of Maine know how long visitors are in their state?
Who is in charge of chalking the tires of all these planes to prove they have been parked in the state for the minimum number of days?
“The Legislature included $28.6 million from dormant gift cards in the budget for the two-year period that ends in mid-2009”
I tried that on my last loan application but they laughed me out of the office of Friendly Paycheck Spend-it-Now.
HaHahaHaHa! Why should I care? I don't have a plane.......
A few years back on my local talk radio station I was able to get thru to talk to some female senator babe from Maine who was applauding the tobacco settlements and how the monies were going to fund the states' healthcare systems......yada, yada, yada.
When I challenged her with direct and to the point questions, she could not answer them and instead commenced to fillibustering, as they all do when directly confronted.
Since the Maine-iac nico-nazis thumbed their noses at the smokers, I thumb my nose at any Maine-iac who since complains about any increases in taxes in their OWN personal enjoyments.........
My statement doesn't apply only to the Maine-iacs, but to every other citizen in this country who is now complaining about being singled out by your nanny state..........
Well Maine originally seceded from Massachusetts, which is where the plane owner lives. Maybe Massachusetts should go Abraham Lincoln on them.
Maine is full of good ole boys yankee style and they are always trying to get one over on you. Most freepers reading this have probably seen, or now that I mention it, will notice a lot of truck trailers with Maine license plates. Most of them have never been in Maine and never will be. For years Maine offered a license on these which was good for the lifetime of the vehicle. This was a bargain for most truck companies because other states charge an annual licensing fee that in the long run costs more. The full faith and credit clause made these “Maine” license plates on the trailers legal in all fifty states, gave Maine a tidy windfall of tax revenue it didn’t have to provide any service to the user for, and screwed every other state out of what they reasonably would have expected to collect. “Let every jolly Maine man sing,” the Maine Fight Song says, and no wonder.
He could cut his landings in half if he bought a parachute...
I had a military buddy that was stationed in Kalifornia for a couple years. 5 years after leaving California he was denied a house loan because the State of Kalifornia had placed a lien against him for state income tax. He was never a Kalifornia resident and never received any notice of the lien.
Main is Liberal right? Olympia Snow? you get what you vote for....
RINO.
I suppose if you have your very own plane then 26K should not mean all that very much to you.
Twenty Six Thousand dollars in taxes?
Are they on drugs or something?
One can only hope enough Americans wake up soon enough - pretty soon it will be too late to stop.
It would be interesting to talk to a lawyer about a class action suit against Maine, based on taxing non-residents without warning.
20 years ago, my Mom was part of a large class action suit against Arizona...courts ruled the state acted illegally and they had to pay taxes collected plus interest. She received her final payment this summer, just before she died.
I find it hard to believe it is legal to tax someone without any warning that XYZ are taxable acts. I doubt we are required to be experts on all tax laws everywhere in the US.
Not as far fetched as you might think. A few years ago there was a movement afoot to levy state income tax on all the money earned by commercial pilots during the time they flew over each state. BTW its against Federal Law...Interstate Commerce et al. But they were serious.
I’ve got some really nice rope out in the barn if anybody wants to use it.
We are already taxed on the number of miles we drive indirectly.... the federal and state tax on gasoline products is in fact equivalent as the amount of gas we buy is directly proportional to miles driven...
Tomorrow, automobiles...
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