BIA REJECTS PROPOSED BOAT TAX
Australia’s Boating Industry Association (BIA) says the NSW Labour Party’s proposed policy to tax new and second-hand recreational boats will bring further hardship on an industry still recovering from the GFC and punish hardworking boaters and retirees.
“We were surprised by Labour’s announcement to tax boat owners,” said BIA president Alan Blake. “The tax will drive sales and jobs away from NSW to other states and sadly, the perception that boats over the value of $200,000 is a tax on the wealthy is fundamentally wrong.
“Many vessels of that value are owned by families, retirees, groups of hard-working, hard-saving mates who have grouped their savings to pursue their passion for being outdoors, or those who have joined in a share boat arrangement through a club. The proposed tax will hurt working families who enjoy boating and the many small businesses and their employees who service them.”
He also believes “the knock-on effect of this proposal has not been considered by the Labour Party. The businesses that service, store or supply provisions for these vessels are small family businesses who will feel a direct impact of such a tax.”
BIA says the number of vessels sold each year within NSW are not as many as the Labour Government believes and the perceived taxation revenue has been significantly overstated. Boats are a discretional purchase and this tax will only push consumers to simply purchase in other states or choose other forms of recreation (like caravanning) which are not penalised by the proposed tax.
There are plenty of international examples, including taxes introduced by President Clinton in the USA in the early 1990s, where taxes on boats, like that proposed by Labour, were implemented then quickly abandoned as they didn’t raise the predicted tax revenue and devastated the local industry.
BIA implores the Labour Party to not repeat these mistakes.
BOAT TAX FUNDS ROADS
The NZ Marine Industry Association and Coastguard New Zealand are urging the Government to take a closer look at the Auckland regional fuel tax which will hit Auckland-based boat owners twice – once when they fill up their cars, and again when they fill up their boats.
The tax sees boaties paying more for their on-water recreation to fund roads and the consequences, says NZ Marine executive director Peter Busfield, go beyond introducing a barrier to recreational boating.
“While it’s clearly unfair to tax a recreational group to pay for another sector’s infrastructure, the effects will be felt far more widely than solely in boaters’ wallets. The Auckland recreational boating industry contributes [to the economy] significantly, providing jobs and apprentice training.”
The tax puts an extra burden on boaters without any mitigating factors. Such mitigating factors might see some of the funds being pushed back into marine environmental projects, boating safety or extra marine facilities. Nationwide, more people than ever are going boating yet many regions have limited boat ramps, with little car and trailer parking.
According to a recent Maritime NZ report on recreational boating, more than 1.5 million adults in New Zealand are involved in recreational boating; 37% of those are Aucklanders, with additional boaties travelling to the city from other regions. More people per capita go boating in Auckland than in any other region.
That means approximately 219,000 people are affected by the regional fuel tax as applied to boaties in Auckland.
NZ Marine estimates those Auckland recreational boat users (mostly with trailer boats) are paying regional petrol fuel tax of $5,864,0400, while diesel launch and keel boats are being charged $1,092,500. Users across the categories include powerboats, launches, keel yachts with engines, jet skis, RIBS and dinghies and 64% of them share their boating time with family and friends.
While commercial vessels can apply for a rebate, recreational users cannot, leaving the association concerned with the effect on the marine industry New Zealand-wide.
NZ Marine says the extra tax may be the tipping point which dampens new boat sales and the industries they support by making boating less affordable for the consumer – particularly in the smaller boat range.
“Getting out on the water is a national pastime,” says Busfield. “We believe it’s not in the best interests of Kiwi families to make time spent in the family dinghy, or weekends heading out in a RIB to go fishing, an unaffordable hobby.
“As an industry we strongly feel this disincentive to boaters in Auckland will have harmful and wide-reaching consequences for our member companies.”
Between central government and the Auckland regional fuel tax, Aucklanders are paying $108,000,000 in fuel tax.
