The question posed by Phil regarding how far away is your boat brings up a related question: If you slip a USCG documented boat in one state and your residence is in another, which jurisdiction gets the proerty tax? Steve
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Debatable tax
This topic was a big deal in the NY Long Island area about twenty years ago. I don't know how it all worked out. Pitted against each other, were the state of New York and it's desire to tax anything not nailed down and the boat owners who, living in NY, having ample experience with that goal, registered their boats in Pago Pago or some other location they could claim residence in. New York's avarice reached unprcedented heights because after all boat owners are rich, now aren't they? The boat owners responded with ever more complex schemes to avoid this, probably due to the large number of Italians in their mix. Don't know how it all came out. Have you ever noticed the large number of Forida license plates in New York? Same battle, different vehicle. I neither condone nor advise the following information: The individual states track you by your federal income tax returns. It takes a while, but they do it. If you are, for instance, going to sea in the merchant marine, are gone for 6-8 months, and when off are travelling about the country, which state are you a resident of? Many merchant mariners are residents of Nevada, a well known sea-faring state. Most states look at registry of your car as proof of residence, absence any reported income and filing in another state. And Florida "reqires" you to register your car in Florida after 30 days. Guess they never heard of a long vacation. The "biggie" that they choose to get you on is the idea that you have to be a resident of some state. NY is VERY big on this and will pursue you to the ends of the earth, unless you can produce a tax filing from another state. Now, if you happened to have a mail box in Nevada. And the address was not a P.O. box, but a "suite" or other euphemism, and your driver's license and boat registration listed as that "address" it complicates the picture. The fact that you are on a "temporary" work assignment in another state doesn't always come up. One would probably want to have a Nevada home port stencilled on their stern also. I know!, but how do you think they found you in the first place? Personally, I kind of like "Rifle, Nevada" myself; sort of goes along with my view of civil liberties. Also, not a bad idea to have a checking account in that state. Be advised, most states will not issue a driver's license to a P.O. box, but will to a suite or apartment. "Mail boxes, etc..." will forward your mail to you, prepaid, on whatever timeline you wish. You'll still have to make an appearance in "your" state every few years but with computers, renew by mail, etc... this is becoming less onerous. Why do you think that many steamship companies register their ships in Wilmington, Delaware (or Monrovia, Liberia for that matter) and the company is in NY and none of their ships ever call in Wilmington? Couldn't be an economic decision could it? Remember, tax evasion is illegal, tax avoidance is good fiscal discipline.
This topic was a big deal in the NY Long Island area about twenty years ago. I don't know how it all worked out. Pitted against each other, were the state of New York and it's desire to tax anything not nailed down and the boat owners who, living in NY, having ample experience with that goal, registered their boats in Pago Pago or some other location they could claim residence in. New York's avarice reached unprcedented heights because after all boat owners are rich, now aren't they? The boat owners responded with ever more complex schemes to avoid this, probably due to the large number of Italians in their mix. Don't know how it all came out. Have you ever noticed the large number of Forida license plates in New York? Same battle, different vehicle. I neither condone nor advise the following information: The individual states track you by your federal income tax returns. It takes a while, but they do it. If you are, for instance, going to sea in the merchant marine, are gone for 6-8 months, and when off are travelling about the country, which state are you a resident of? Many merchant mariners are residents of Nevada, a well known sea-faring state. Most states look at registry of your car as proof of residence, absence any reported income and filing in another state. And Florida "reqires" you to register your car in Florida after 30 days. Guess they never heard of a long vacation. The "biggie" that they choose to get you on is the idea that you have to be a resident of some state. NY is VERY big on this and will pursue you to the ends of the earth, unless you can produce a tax filing from another state. Now, if you happened to have a mail box in Nevada. And the address was not a P.O. box, but a "suite" or other euphemism, and your driver's license and boat registration listed as that "address" it complicates the picture. The fact that you are on a "temporary" work assignment in another state doesn't always come up. One would probably want to have a Nevada home port stencilled on their stern also. I know!, but how do you think they found you in the first place? Personally, I kind of like "Rifle, Nevada" myself; sort of goes along with my view of civil liberties. Also, not a bad idea to have a checking account in that state. Be advised, most states will not issue a driver's license to a P.O. box, but will to a suite or apartment. "Mail boxes, etc..." will forward your mail to you, prepaid, on whatever timeline you wish. You'll still have to make an appearance in "your" state every few years but with computers, renew by mail, etc... this is becoming less onerous. Why do you think that many steamship companies register their ships in Wilmington, Delaware (or Monrovia, Liberia for that matter) and the company is in NY and none of their ships ever call in Wilmington? Couldn't be an economic decision could it? Remember, tax evasion is illegal, tax avoidance is good fiscal discipline.
NY
Anybody in New York with any info on how all that played out back in the eighties, or is it still being fought out?
Anybody in New York with any info on how all that played out back in the eighties, or is it still being fought out?
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