Taxes, how do they know?

[jkleins]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

I don;t know why this isn't clear to everyone but apparently some seem unable to comprehend this point. If you are in Fl over 90 days and you haven't paid sales tax elsewhere, FL requires you pay it.



What happens in St Louis, Maryland, Maine, etc. is irrelevant.


If you sail outside the 3 mile limit, the clock doesn't reset. That's ridiculous and is simple tax evasion which affects all the rest of us.

Except that is not what the law says. It says if you do not live in the state and have had the boat outside the state longer then 6 months then you are exempt from paying that tax. There are states like Virginia that have a property tax on boats instead of a use tax. It is close to 0.8% of the value per year so easily becomes as much as a use tax or sales tax. It seems reasonable that if your boat is under the jurisdiction of another state and moves into Florida some time later that there is this exemption. You do require registration but that is not nearly as much as the tax.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by Paul L

I tend to argee with you on this, but if you read the actual wording in the FL boating laws its not really clear. There are a half a dozen places dealing with time periods in days in the boating statues. Some say xx 'consecutive days' while others say xx 'days'. The part concerning the reciprocity exemption for out of state vessels says '90 days'. It doesn't say consecutive or per year.
It seems to be interpreted as per-year but not sure this correct.

Agreed that the statutory language is a bit vague and inconsistent. I suspect one should also look to the individual reciprocity agreements between each of the states and Florida as to the specific terms and nature of reciprocity provided. There being many such reciprocity agreements negotiated. Never an easy issue when there are many jurisdictions involved.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by jkleins

Except that is not what the law says. It says if you do not live in the state and have had the boat outside the state longer then 6 months then you are exempt from paying that tax.

Well, if we're getting specific, that's not exactly what the law says either. There are conditions that apply. Those being that the boat has to have been used (not just stored, but USED) in another state, territory of the U.S., or the District of Columbia (not in another country) during that 6 months before being imported to the state of Florida. There are also some other conditions, but none that would be likely to apply to anyone here.



For those interested in ALL the details, you can find the Florida statute on use tax here: https://tinyurl.com/b5powax Paragraph (8)(a) is the relevant one.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by Checkswrecks

I've had the same airplane experience mentioned and learned that it's pretty easy for States to know vehicle ownership, whether airplane, boat, or road.

A number of folks mentioned bridges. The Maryland and Virginia tax people do visit marinas and it'd be very unsurprising to hear that marinas or insurance companies need to report vessels. .

When I lived in Arlington in the nineties, I had an undercover federal government issued vehicle (a 300 series Mercedes, no less) with Maryland plates (that was registered to a fictitious name and address).

I can say for sure that Virginia tax collectors roamed our apartment complex as I would have another flyer on the windshield about every two weeks, for the entire year I lived there, warning me of the dire consequences that awaited me if I continued to fail to register the vehicle in Virginia.

I kept expecting it to just be gone one morning but they never went past the windshield notices.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Maybe you should read the quotes you use to make counter statements better

Maybe you should just speak clearly.

[SV THIRD DAY]

The folks in the County and State tax offices can easily search m, find and read your Blog and FaceBook pages.

So you tell them yourself when you post online.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

Glad to hear you weren't fined. It is one thing to fail to pay taxes because you honestly thought you weren't required to. It is quite another to knowingly and deliberately violate the laws.


Of course, some would argue that "ignorance of the law is no excuse," and that is true. Still, there are a lot of laws where the penalties are substantially less -- or even nonexistent -- if you do not knowingly violate them. Income tax laws in the U.S. are a good example. If you make an unwitting mistake there are penalties for that. If you deliberately commit fraud, however, the penalties are far more severe.

There are actually some laws on the books which are written to take apparent intent or even the relative knowledge of the person into account. There is, or used to be, a tax law worded that way in FL. I made a decision under that law once which FL Dept of Revenue disagreed with. They called me up to discuss it. They were sympathetic to my rationale, but still ruled it was incorrect. [emoji45]

However because I was clearly not acting with ill intent based on the paper trail & conversations they only slapped me with a very small fine when they could have whacked me hard.

[casual]

Fl has marinas report guest . They also have tax agents roaming, a friend of mine years back got the message.

[Maverick 505]

In Florida, if you are a non-resident and you bring the boat to Florida later than 6 months after purchase, then no use tax is due. If you bring it to Florida sooner than that, it is due and they will catch you by their various means, many mentioned above.

S

[Dolphin460]

Bought my boat in Brazil and registered it in Delaware. No taxes. Then I sailed it from Brazil to the EU. No taxes there as long as I remove it from the EU for a least the time it takes me to check in and out of a non EU country every 18 months. You can do that during the same day. If you are a resident of the EU and your home is you boat, then you get taxed like a home. In Italy there is no tax on the home you live in. In addition, my transom says I am from California and I have never heard from them. For what it is worth.

[Aquadome]

Originally Posted by Dolphin460

Bought my boat in Brazil and registered it in Delaware. No taxes. Then I sailed it from Brazil to the EU. No taxes there as long as I remove it from the EU for a least the time it takes me to check in and out of a non EU country every 18 months. You can do that during the same day. If you are a resident of the EU and your home is you boat, then you get taxed like a home. In Italy there is no tax on the home you live in. In addition, my transom says I am from California and I have never heard from them. For what it is worth.

What country are you a citizen of?

[Aquadome]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

FL, and many other States, will want their tax if in the State over specified time (varies by State) regardless of where registered.

You are 100% incorrect my good fellow.

Boats registered offshore (the BVI’s, St. Vincent and the Marshall Islands were popular) can bring the boat back to Florida under an annual cruising permit from the U.S. Coast Guard. Under the cruising permit, the boats could remain in Florida, or anywhere else in the U.S. for one year. The boat is then required to leave U.S. waters and enter a foreign port like say a nice cruise to Bimini and then they could then turn around and apply for a new cruising permit for another year etc etc etc ....

[Dolphin460]

I am a US citizen cruising the Med 9 months of the year.

[Dave9111]

Sounds like the EU is a lot more reasonable than Florida. Years ago I dreamed of moving to FL, but the state has really gone to hell. Sure, there are nice areas, but in general, it has really gone downhill. Too many people who are not well educated, who barely survive in the service business at minimum wage. The underclass there has really grown. If you go to Orlando, and drive around, outside the tourist areas, be prepared to be shocked. The upper classes do their best to keep the lower class folks out of their areas via gated areas and fees. $5.00 to park so I can walk to the beach south of Jacksonville... typical. My last trip to Orlando may have been my last.

[lestersails]

This thread is proof that if you have a tax law question, you should ask a tax attorney, not a blog.