Senator John F. Kerry announced yesterday that he will voluntarily pay $500,000 to Massachusetts tax collectors on his luxury yacht, a pledge made hours after state officials had begun inquiring into whether he had attempted to evade the payment by docking the boat in Rhode Island.
The state Department of Revenue had just started looking into Kerry’s use of the $7 million sloop and into reports that it had been spotted repeatedly in Massachusetts since it was registered in March. Officials could have subpoenaed the ship’s log to see where the yacht had been, according to a Department of Revenue official who declined to be identified by name because tax cases by law are confidential.
But any investigation was swiftly curtailed yesterday, after Kerry issued a statement in the late afternoon, pledging payment.
“We’ve reached out to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and made clear that, whether owed or not, we intend to pay the equivalent taxes as if the boat’s home port were currently in Massachusetts,’’ Kerry said. “That payment is being made promptly.’’
Kerry spokeswoman Jodi Seth said state officials had not notified the senator that they had begun looking into the yacht purchase.
Navjeet Bal, commissioner of the Department of Revenue, issued a statement last night saying the department had not yet launched an official investigation.
The state’s senior US senator has been assailed by questions since the Boston Herald reported Friday that he was docking his yacht, Isabel, in Newport, R.I., allowing him to avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars in Massachusetts taxes. Rhode Island rescinded its sales and use tax on boats in 1993, creating a tax haven for yacht owners.
Residents who buy boats out of state but plan to use them in Massachusetts must file a form and pay a use tax, equivalent to the Massachusetts sales tax of 6.25 percent, by the 20th day of the month after they take possession of the boats, according to the Department of Revenue. Kerry filed no such form and paid no such tax. If he docked the yacht in Massachusetts, he would also be subject to a $70,000 annual excise tax, payable to the city or town of that home port.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...10/07/28/kerry_will_pay_mass_tax_on_ri_yacht/
Shamed into paying his taxes.
The state Department of Revenue had just started looking into Kerry’s use of the $7 million sloop and into reports that it had been spotted repeatedly in Massachusetts since it was registered in March. Officials could have subpoenaed the ship’s log to see where the yacht had been, according to a Department of Revenue official who declined to be identified by name because tax cases by law are confidential.
But any investigation was swiftly curtailed yesterday, after Kerry issued a statement in the late afternoon, pledging payment.
“We’ve reached out to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and made clear that, whether owed or not, we intend to pay the equivalent taxes as if the boat’s home port were currently in Massachusetts,’’ Kerry said. “That payment is being made promptly.’’
Kerry spokeswoman Jodi Seth said state officials had not notified the senator that they had begun looking into the yacht purchase.
Navjeet Bal, commissioner of the Department of Revenue, issued a statement last night saying the department had not yet launched an official investigation.
The state’s senior US senator has been assailed by questions since the Boston Herald reported Friday that he was docking his yacht, Isabel, in Newport, R.I., allowing him to avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars in Massachusetts taxes. Rhode Island rescinded its sales and use tax on boats in 1993, creating a tax haven for yacht owners.
Residents who buy boats out of state but plan to use them in Massachusetts must file a form and pay a use tax, equivalent to the Massachusetts sales tax of 6.25 percent, by the 20th day of the month after they take possession of the boats, according to the Department of Revenue. Kerry filed no such form and paid no such tax. If he docked the yacht in Massachusetts, he would also be subject to a $70,000 annual excise tax, payable to the city or town of that home port.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...10/07/28/kerry_will_pay_mass_tax_on_ri_yacht/
Shamed into paying his taxes.