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Sunday, December 22, 2024

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Marina Owners Decry Boat Tax

About half of the slips are empty at Norton Yachts on Broad Creek in Deltaville, Norton’s President and Co-owner Kendall Webre said Monday. “When you are competing against neighboring counties that don’t have a boat tax, it’s a losing battle,” she said. (Photo by Tom Chillemi)

Nearby counties without Middlesex’s tax burden hurt boating businesses here

by Tom Chillemi – 

The case for eliminating the boat tax was bolstered by comments from marina owners made to the Lancaster Board of Supervisors on March 25. During the public input segment of the meeting, all reported at least double digit increases in business since Lancaster repealed the boat tax on vessels weighing more than five tons in 2015 and boats weighing fewer than five tons in 2016.

In April 2018 the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors lowered the boat tax rate on boats more than five tons from 98 cents per $100 of value to 61 cents — the same rate as the county real estate tax. The rate was not lowered on boats weighing fewer than five tons, which remains at 98 cents per $100.

When the real estate tax rate was raised to 62 cents last year the same increase was applied to boats weighing more than five tons. The rate for boats weighing fewer than five tons remains at 98 cents per $100 of value. (Boats weighing five tons are about 30 to 35 feet long.)

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