TheRightsWriter.com
07-30-2010, 01:38 PM
by Ben Johnson (http://www.nlpc.org/bios/ben-johnson)
Sen. John F. Kerry has just passed another tax onto wealthy Republicans - by having his wife pay half-a-million dollars in back taxes on his yacht.
Kerry has been docking (http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/editorials/view/20100728he_sailed_into_this_storm/) his $7 million, 76-foot yacht, Isabel, in Rhode Island, which has no yacht tax, since he purchased it in March. However, Massachusetts has a 6.25 percent "use" tax on any item bought elsewhere for use in Taxachusetts. State officers regularly track down those purchasing tires, alcohol, or other consumer goods in neighboring states, such as tax-free New Hampshire.
Keeping the boat stashed out-of-state saved Kerry more than $500,000, including (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/election/2010/07/28/kerry-to-pay-yacht-tax-in-effort-to-cast-off-controversy/) "$440,000 in Massachusetts sales taxes and $70,000 in annual excise taxes." However, the Department of Revenue had begun investigating (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/07/28/kerry_will_pay_mass_tax_on_ri_yacht/) claims the sloop had been seen off the Nantucket coast.
The senator insisted to the press that the matter was "not an issue," and testily demanded, "Can I get out of here, please?" (http://wbztv.com/video/?id=91429@wbz.dayport.com) But after days of rebuffing reporters for invading his haute monde, Kerry flip-flopped on Tuesday evening and agreed he will "promptly" (http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/john-kerry-promises-prompt-tax-payment-for-yacht-25-apx-20100727) pay the half-million dollars, "whether owed or not." (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/28/kerry-volunteers-to-pay-500k-in-taxes-for-luxury-yacht/?fbid=_uJ34oIIvG5)
Of course he will not pay the tax on the boat because, like much of John Kerry's property, it is not John Kerry's property. The Boston Globe reported (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/07/28/kerry_will_pay_mass_tax_on_ri_yacht/?page=2) Isabel "is officially owned by a company named Great Point LLC in Pittsburgh, a property of a trust that benefits Kerry's wife, Heinz Ketchup heiress Teresa Heinz Kerry."
That means Teresa Heinz (who dropped the Kerry surname (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_300508.html) shortly after the 2004 election) owns the New Zealand-built yacht which, according to the designer's website, took a year to complete and includes "a wet bar and cold wine storage to entertain up to six around the U-shaped settee and custom teak table."
Kerry uses the Eeesabell courtesy of Teraysa, who owns the boat largely courtesy of the Heinz family fortune.
When her first husband, Sen. John Heinz, R-PA, died in 1991, Teresa inherited his estate. Following her marriage to Kerry in 1995, public records revealed Teresa had $100 million in assets and $400 million in Heinz stock inherited from John Heinz's death. By 2004, the Los Angeles Times estimated her net worth had grown to between $900 million and $3.2 billion (http://articles.sfgate.com/2004-06-27/news/17431894_1_heinz-stock-teresa-heinz-kerry-public-records). Roll Call reports the Heinz fortune lifted John Kerry from the upper middle class - he had $100,000 in assets in 1990 (http://www.rollcall.com/features/Guide-to-Congress_2009/guide/38407-1.html) - to the heights of conspicuous consumption.
Read the whole article (http://www.nlpc.org/stories/2010/07/29/john-kerry%E2%80%99s-yacht-another-tax-rich-republicans) on NLPC.org (http://www.nlpc.org/stories/2010/07/29/john-kerry%E2%80%99s-yacht-another-tax-rich-republicans)
Sen. John F. Kerry has just passed another tax onto wealthy Republicans - by having his wife pay half-a-million dollars in back taxes on his yacht.
Kerry has been docking (http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/editorials/view/20100728he_sailed_into_this_storm/) his $7 million, 76-foot yacht, Isabel, in Rhode Island, which has no yacht tax, since he purchased it in March. However, Massachusetts has a 6.25 percent "use" tax on any item bought elsewhere for use in Taxachusetts. State officers regularly track down those purchasing tires, alcohol, or other consumer goods in neighboring states, such as tax-free New Hampshire.
Keeping the boat stashed out-of-state saved Kerry more than $500,000, including (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/election/2010/07/28/kerry-to-pay-yacht-tax-in-effort-to-cast-off-controversy/) "$440,000 in Massachusetts sales taxes and $70,000 in annual excise taxes." However, the Department of Revenue had begun investigating (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/07/28/kerry_will_pay_mass_tax_on_ri_yacht/) claims the sloop had been seen off the Nantucket coast.
The senator insisted to the press that the matter was "not an issue," and testily demanded, "Can I get out of here, please?" (http://wbztv.com/video/?id=91429@wbz.dayport.com) But after days of rebuffing reporters for invading his haute monde, Kerry flip-flopped on Tuesday evening and agreed he will "promptly" (http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/john-kerry-promises-prompt-tax-payment-for-yacht-25-apx-20100727) pay the half-million dollars, "whether owed or not." (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/28/kerry-volunteers-to-pay-500k-in-taxes-for-luxury-yacht/?fbid=_uJ34oIIvG5)
Of course he will not pay the tax on the boat because, like much of John Kerry's property, it is not John Kerry's property. The Boston Globe reported (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/07/28/kerry_will_pay_mass_tax_on_ri_yacht/?page=2) Isabel "is officially owned by a company named Great Point LLC in Pittsburgh, a property of a trust that benefits Kerry's wife, Heinz Ketchup heiress Teresa Heinz Kerry."
That means Teresa Heinz (who dropped the Kerry surname (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_300508.html) shortly after the 2004 election) owns the New Zealand-built yacht which, according to the designer's website, took a year to complete and includes "a wet bar and cold wine storage to entertain up to six around the U-shaped settee and custom teak table."
Kerry uses the Eeesabell courtesy of Teraysa, who owns the boat largely courtesy of the Heinz family fortune.
When her first husband, Sen. John Heinz, R-PA, died in 1991, Teresa inherited his estate. Following her marriage to Kerry in 1995, public records revealed Teresa had $100 million in assets and $400 million in Heinz stock inherited from John Heinz's death. By 2004, the Los Angeles Times estimated her net worth had grown to between $900 million and $3.2 billion (http://articles.sfgate.com/2004-06-27/news/17431894_1_heinz-stock-teresa-heinz-kerry-public-records). Roll Call reports the Heinz fortune lifted John Kerry from the upper middle class - he had $100,000 in assets in 1990 (http://www.rollcall.com/features/Guide-to-Congress_2009/guide/38407-1.html) - to the heights of conspicuous consumption.
Read the whole article (http://www.nlpc.org/stories/2010/07/29/john-kerry%E2%80%99s-yacht-another-tax-rich-republicans) on NLPC.org (http://www.nlpc.org/stories/2010/07/29/john-kerry%E2%80%99s-yacht-another-tax-rich-republicans)