Even John Kerry says taxes are crazy
 

LOL. I don't blame him at all, but I just found this pretty funny.

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Mass. Sen. Kerry docks yacht in RI, saving $500K

Fri Jul 23, 5:55 pm ET

BOSTON ? Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is docking his family's new $7 million yacht in neighboring Rhode Island, allowing him to avoid paying roughly $500,000 in taxes to his cash-strapped home state.

If the Isabel were kept at the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee's summer vacation home on Nantucket or in Boston Harbor near his city residence, he would be liable for $437,500 in one-time sales tax. He would also have to pay $70,000 in annual excise taxes.
Rhode Island repealed those taxes in 1993. That has made the state something of a nautical tax haven.

Kerry spokesman David Wade said Friday the boat is being kept at Newport Shipyard not to evade taxes, but "for long-term maintenance, upkeep and charter purposes."

Wade noted the vessel was designed by Rhode Island boat designer Ted Fontaine and purchased in the state. It was built in New Zealand by Friendship Yachts.

A Department of Revenue spokesman said Kerry would be liable for Massachusetts taxes if he berthed the boat in the Bay State within six months of its purchase. If the Isabel were brought to Massachusetts after that period, the state would have to decide if it wanted to pursue the taxes.

Massachusetts, like most other states, has been grappling with plunging tax revenues. Last year's budget deficit was $600 million, and officials are bracing for a $1 billion deficit this year.

Gov. Deval Patrick, visiting Massachusetts National Guard troops in Afghanistan, said he had not read the local papers and had no comment. Rep. Karyn Polito, a Shrewsbury Republican running for state treasurer, said the Revenue Department should investigate whether Kerry was committing tax evasion.

The Massachusetts Republican Party also criticized Kerry.

"While we can fault the senator for his hypocrisy on taxes or having his boat built halfway around the world instead of here in the USA, John Kerry proves an important point that taxes in Massachusetts are too high. If they are too high for someone as rich as Senator Kerry, they are absolutely too high for working-class taxpayers who are being squeezed at every turn," said a statement issued by party Chairwoman Jennifer Nassour.

The 76-foot sloop has two cabins, a pilot house fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage, according to the Boston Herald, which first reported its Rhode Island berthing. It derives its moniker from the middle name of Kerry's mother and the name his wife, Teresa Heinz, hoped to give a daughter.

Instead, she had three sons.

Coast Guard registration records show the vessel is owned by Great Point LLC, a limited liability corporation based in Pittsburgh, Heinz's longtime home. The millionaire heiress to the Heinz ketchup fortune is a philanthropist and environmentalist.

That is fantastic.
Another amazing thing: Kerry owns Heinz Ketchup company.
Ketchup tastes good.

Good for him.

fatfoo, good morning :1orglaugh

Every time I see John Kerry's name I am reminded of the thing the comic Earthquake said about him. Kerry's wife is the heir to the Heinz fortune. Earthquake said of Kerry when he was running for president ," I don't even know why he is running. His wife owns ketchup. Every time a mother fucker orders fries. . . cha ching cha ching."

Kerry is like every other rich douchebag. They have money in their pocket and they think their opinion is more important than John Q Public's. This is a guy that never worked a day in his life and married rich. He pontificates "green" for the masses, but has a yacht that burns more petrol than a suburb of Boston. He preaches higher taxes but uses every loophole to avoid paying them. People like him should be ridiculed and stoned.... and to show I am non-partisan, GW should have had the same treatment.

Taxes are beautiful. I took my wife to San Francisco for a three day vacation during Cybernet expo and wrote everything off. I also get to write off my "company car" that sits in the garage and collects dust, as well as my power bill.

I think you are confused. Those are not taxes you are happy about those are write offs.

It is like a slave saying they love getting 3 meals a day so slavery is awesome.

I could not agree with you more. I think these people need to be called out more. Everyone is a hypocrite, I'm not denying that... but blatant hypocrisy is just telling everyone "hey, I think you are too stupid to even notice what I'm doing." And maybe they are right, but that's why people that you notice need to be calling these out.

Charlie Rangel writing taxes. John Kerry buying yachts from the other side of the world and storing them in cheaper states to avoid taxes. Al Gore living in mega-mansions while complaining about everybody else's carbon footprint.

And I'm definitely not saying Republicans do this. They do as well, I just can't think of any examples off the top of my head this morning.

Do you have a link to the story?

Last year people caught a Mass state rep, who voted for higher alcohol taxes, buying large volumes of booze at a New Hampshire state liquor store, NH has no tax. :Oh crap

Taxes in California are such a joke, people are buying property in Oregon so they can register their cars there

Good idea. I just got my renewal notice in the mail.... $440 to re-register my vehicle for one year. $380 for my wife's car.
(plus the cost of the CA smog tests, usually $60-ish each)

Exactly. That's not being happy about taxes, that's being happy about avoiding taxes.