Sen. John Kerry saves a boatload of taxes by mooring new yacht in Rhode Island

Sen. John Kerry, who has repeatedly voted to raise taxes while in Congress, dodged a whopping six-figure state tax bill on his new multimillion-dollar yacht by mooring her in Newport, R.I.

john kerry new yacht taxes
Hypocritical John Kerry doesn't want to pay sales tax on his new $6,000,000 yacht.

Would a fine, upstanding liberal like John Kerry actually attempt to save $400,000 in taxes by mooring his new yacht in Rhode Island instead of the state in which he lives?

No, he’d never do that because that would be hypocritical. On second thought, that’s exactly what he’d do.

The Boston Herald headlines Mr. Heinz’ hypocrisy:

Sen. John Kerry, who has repeatedly voted to raise taxes while in Congress, dodged a whopping six-figure state tax bill on his new multimillion-dollar yacht by mooring her in Newport, R.I.

Isabel – Kerry’s luxe, 76-foot New Zealand-built Friendship sloop with an Edwardian-style, glossy varnished teak interior, two VIP main cabins and a pilothouse fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage – was designed by Rhode Island boat designer Ted Fontaine.

But instead of berthing the vessel in Nantucket, where the senator summers with the missus, Teresa Heinz, Isabel’s hailing port is listed as “Newport” on her stern.

Could the reason be that the Ocean State repealed its Boat Sales and Use Tax back in 1993, making the tiny state to the south a haven – like the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Nassau – for tax-skirting luxury yacht owners?

Cash-strapped Massachusetts still collects a 6.25 percent sales tax and an annual excise tax on yachts. Sources say Isabel sold for something in the neighborhood of $7 million, meaning Kerry saved approximately $437,500 in sales tax and an annual excise tax of about $70,000.

C’mon, we say cut Kerry a little slack. Do you have any idea how many bottles of ketchup you have to sell to make $400,000?

Source: Boston Herald

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