Yacht Owners Face Double Taxation

Your article “Loophole You Can Sail a Yacht Through” (June 30) paints a one-sided picture. It is unfair to charge sales taxes when purchasing a yacht. A yacht is equivalent to a vacation home. It has a kitchen and bathroom. Applying the sales tax to a yacht is the same as charging sales tax to buy a house.

“Wait!” you say. “I pay property taxes on a house.” Surprise! Yacht owners also pay property taxes. Yup, 1% of the purchase price per year. So, in about eight years, we’ve given the state the same amount as if we’d paid sales tax. In addition, the property tax never goes away.

I kept my last boat 10 years. I did pay the sales tax on $44,000 when I bought it. Thus, not only did I pay sales tax, but I also paid the recurring property tax ($440 a year) too. Charging both sales tax and property tax for a yacht is excessive.

Patrick Shuss

Torrance