Is whining about tax deductions for yachts a good example of Liberal "Class Warfare"?

[AguaBuda]

Is whining about tax deductions for yachts a good example of Liberal "Class Warfare"?

Why or why not?

"Some ultra-rich yacht buyers are expecting to deduct millions from their income tax next year by depreciating their pleasure craft under the provisions of the Bush administration's tax-relief program passed by Congress in 2003. About 500,000 boat owners nationwide can decrease their income-tax bill every year by declaring their vessels a second home. Some others collect healthy deductions from putting their boats into charter arrangements that may skirt the provisions of the tax code. And some corporations take deductions on yachts that seem to stretch the definition of a business resource."

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/198998_boats10.html
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/199197_boatshome11.html

 

[bmovies60]

"Some ultra-rich yacht buyers are expecting to deduct millions from their income tax next year by depreciating their pleasure craft under the provisions of the Bush administration's tax-relief program passed by Congress in 2003. About 500,000 boat owners nationwide can decrease their income-tax bill every year by declaring their vessels a second home. Some others collect healthy deductions from putting their boats into charter arrangements that may skirt the provisions of the tax code. And some corporations take deductions on yachts that seem to stretch the definition of a business resource."

Well good for them. Look at what happened when we raised taxes on yachts (among other rich people luxury items)

Twelve days ago, the luxury tax on expensive cars expired. It was the last of the luxury taxes that the first President Bush signed in 1990 as part of the budget agreement in which he broke his "read my lips, no new taxes" pledge.

The agreement was brokered Sen. George Mitchell , D-Maine , then majority leader. And the luxury tax was supported by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.

The luxury tax applied not just to cars, but to jewelry, furs and private planes, and to expensive boats — yachts.

Not So Lucrative

Congress estimated that in 1991 these luxury taxes would rake in $31 million. But the actual sum was just $16.6 million.

Why? Because, to the surprise of no one except tax-raising politicians the luxury taxes caused people to buy less jewelry and fewer expensive cars, planes, and, especially, yachts.

The tax destroyed jobs — an estimated 25,000 of them in the boat-building industry, much of which is in New England — in Sen. Mitchell's Maine and Sen. Kennedy's Massachusetts.

Job losses cost the government more than $24 million in unemployment benefits and lost income tax revenue. So the luxury tax actually cost the government money.

New England's boat-building industry was still so devastated by 1999 that another Kennedy — Ted's son Patrick, a Rhode island congressman — actually proposed a federal subsidy to help rich people buy yachts. He called it, "exactly the opposite of a luxury tax."

Remember this costly farce when you hear talk about helping the common folks by taxing the rich.

http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/story?id=132568&page=1

 

[Maxwell]

Libs don't take tax deductions on their yachts..they store them the next state over and simply don't pay taxes...

<cough> John Kerry <cough>

 

[LteAldoRaine]

No, it's an example of middle class blue collar workers getting fu@king pissed off when half their check is taken for taxes while someone who paid twice their yearly salary for a boat is allowed to write it off and skate on taxes. If you're NOT "whining" about that bullsh!t then you're either rich or on welfare. Which is it?

 

[slykitty62]

My question to you is, why aren't you upset that all the tax law favors the rich and shafts the working class stiffs who will never own a yacht or a second home or whatever? There are times when class warfare is necessary to make sure all the wealth doesn't end up in just a few hands. I say we are at that point now.