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3.30.07
Paddlers Dodge A Tax - For Now
New Hampshire strikes down a fee for canoes and kayaks. But
more states may look to tax paddlers.
by
Dan Mathers
A New
Hampshire bill that would’ve charged paddlers an annual $10 fee
to register canoes and kayaks was unanimously defeated by the
state senate last week. But the bill’s defeat may merely signal
the beginning of a regional and national push to tax paddlers.
The bill —
known as SB 255 —
would have charged the registration fee for all canoes and
kayaks used on New Hampshire’s rivers and streams. It would have
applied to all individual boat owners, businesses and
out-of-state paddlers who use their boats in New Hampshire.
Instead of benefiting paddlers, the money raised would have gone
to help fund the state Department of Fish and Game.
Additionally, the bill would have required all canoe and kayak
owners to place two registration decals on their boats.
In recent weeks, the bill was strongly opposed by individual
residents and businesses. Matt Menashes, the executive director
of the Paddlesports Industry Association, says SB 255 would have
been especially hard on canoe and kayak rental businesses, some
of whom would have faced thousands of dollars in taxes. They
also would have had an additional barrier to selling
lower-priced recreational boats, and would have had a large
paperwork burden in registering each of their individual
vessels.
Ultimately, organizations like Menashes’, canoe and kayak rental
businesses, local clubs and individual paddlers sounded the
alarm over the bill, and SB 255 was unanimously defeated, with
even the bill’s original sponsors voting against it. Legislators
cited the vocal opposition to the bill
—
including out-of-state paddlers who said they wouldn’t come to
New Hampshire —
as reasons they voted against it.
“It was soundly rejected by the people who would be affected,”
says Menashes. “This really was grassroots driven.”
But efforts to tax New England paddlers may only be beginning.
“I think this is something that is going to continue to rear its
head,” says Menashes.
State governments are increasingly looking at paddlesports as a
source of revenue. States such as Pennsylvania, Ohio and
Minnesota already require canoe and kayak registration. Menashes
says he can’t blame New Hampshire for trying to fund the
Department of Fish and Game. Many state governments are strapped
for cash, he says, and they are trying to fund agencies without
raising taxes. Although, Menashes points out, fees are a form of
taxation.
Another force driving the push to tax paddlers is the federal
formula for distributing boating safety grant money. That
formula is based on the number of boats registered in a state.
So, Menashes says, states that register canoes and kayaks, as
well as recreational power and sailboats, get a bigger piece of
the pie than states that don’t register canoes and kayaks.
Also, Menashes says, there is a growing desire to mandate safety
education for paddlers, and even requiring them to have boater
identification cards.
Menashes says there may be steps states can take to make
regulation of canoes and kayaks more palatable. But, he says,
paddlers need to be included in the discussion, which they
haven’t been yet. And, he says, paddlers should reap some
benefit from any fee they are required to pay.
Despite the increasing pressure to regulate and tax canoes and
kayaks, Menashes says that it is not inevitable. “Legislators
react to the concerns of their constituency,” he says.
“Organized opposition can have a substantial impact, as can
organized support.” |
