Hey, there! Log in / Register
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Rich Democrats are different
Rich Democrats are different from the rest of us.
Nothing to see here - please move on.
Really?
So, people of other political affiliations who dock their boats in RI are required to pay the MA tax? Can you cite this odd tax law? I can't seem to find it on the attorney general's website.
I'm East Cambridge, and I'm reporting for Duty!
Okay, thank God that we're still a two newspaper town! Finally, the Globe catches up with a great local story that the Herald first ran with four days ago! The Globe has done nothing but give this one a good goddamned leaving alone, to paraphrase George V. Higgins speaking through Eddie Coyle.
Particularly galling to me, since I was standing in line at the the RMV 35 minutes before it opened yesterday, looking forward (NOT!) to a $600-plus sales tax bill on a used Subaru.
Really important news
"Politician Utilizes Legal Tax Shelter"
How on earth did the Globe manage to pass that story up? Thank god for the two heifers at Inside Track. Ladies, your Pulitzer awaits.
Great local story?
This is news for you? A man buys a boat and houses it in RI because it saves him $500,000. That's news? What was so compelling about this story?
Was it the fact that he docked it in MA within 6 months of purchase, thereby triggering the tax? Well, guess what. The state hadn't had to assess the tax yet, so he hadn't gotten a bill for the $500,000...so he hadn't proffered it yet. Imagine that! If/when the state asks for its money AND he doesn't pay it, THEN it could be worth a story.
Also, what does your car's sales tax have to do with anything? Do you think the $500,000 from Kerry's use tax would somehow make your car's tax less or have improved the RMV's wait times?
This is such a bullshit trumped up non-story that's just being used for anti-Kerry/anti-politician/anti-Democrat hatred to glom onto it. It's the Herald's specialty and it's exactly why the Globe was smart enough to stay away from it and why Kerry has said all along that he'd pay any taxes he owes.
Docked in Nantucket over July 4
There have many reports that the yacht has been docked in Nantucket (where Kerry/Heinz have a home) over the July 4 holiday and other times recently.
So, yes, Kerry/Heinz owes taxes on this boat. I doubt he would have otherwise if he didn't get caught red-handed.
Answer me this GOP troll. How
Answer me this GOP troll.
How can you be against taxation if you don't even understand it?
He doesn't even own the boat
The yacht, purchased in Rhode Island, is owned by an LLC (Great Point) majority owned by his wife, based in Pittsburgh. She is a Pennsylvania resident, not a Massachusetts resident. It's harbored where it was bought partially because they charter it out, and Newport is a real yachty place (Kerry is only going to see this boat a couple times a year, and it might as well pay rent in the meantime). So, if anything, Heinz should pay Pennsylvania taxes on it. Kerry is writing a check not because there is any Massachusetts tax liability for a Pennsylvania resident to harbor a boat in Rhode Island, but just to make the idiots shut up... which they won't, so he's really wasting his money.
By the same standard, anybody from any state who ever drives an out-of-state car into MA should pay taxes at the border, not just our bumper crop of fake sunbirds driving around with Florida plates on their cars.
Does Kerry live in Massachusetts?
I mean, this is kind of a silly story, but I assume that Kerry is a resident of Massachusetts and should have a house here. If he is going to use the boat in MA, he should have to pay taxes on it, as that is the law (if he brings the boat to MA within 6 months of the purchase) As a US Senator, he should try to do the right thing and not only pay taxes to the state he should be living in, but also not act like 500K is just some joke and he is willing to pay that to whatever state wants it just because he pays so many taxes anyway.
If he doesn't own the boat, then stand up and say so and just refuse to pay MA taxes since the boat wasn't bought in MA and isn't used in MA and isn't even owned by a MA citizen.
Business versus Private
If this is a business investment, I believe the tax situation is structured differently.
In the meantime, lets go down the the Herald and start counting New Hampshire license plates, shall we? Or start FOIA processes to figure out how many different tax shelters in other states that Howie Edsel has. That would be fun.
Doesn't look like a business investment to me.
I dunno.
How about this
If you bought a car in RI and registered it in MA you owe tax.
If you buy a car in RI and register it in RI, you don't pay MA tax.
If you buy a car in MA and register it at your camp or second home in NH, you pay excise tax in NH even if you live in MA.
I'm not clear on what his residence or where the yacht visits has to do with anything if it isn't registered in MA - assuming that tax rules are congruent (maybe a weak assumption).
So ... does Howie Carr register his vehicles in Florida or own a boat docked elsewhere? That would be really fun to sniff out. I somehow bet that the major ass has a few major assets hiding untaxed in other places - but that's okay if you are a Republican because you're just sticking it to the State!!!
Howie Carr vs. Kerry.
There is a big difference between the two. Carr, like many people who don't like to pay taxes, would do anything they can to avoid paying taxes within the framworks of the tax laws. Who wouldn't? But if you are a politician who has an impact on how much taxes everyone pays and is for higher taxes in general, it may not be the right thing to do. Hence the story.
As for the tax rules, that was where I was going. I heard that if you buy a boat out of state, and register it with the Coast Guard, you have six months and if you bring that boat into MA, you need to pay taxes on it if you are a MA resident. If you own property in NH but live in MA and can legally register your boat or car in NH without paying MA taxes, then why wouldn't the average person do this? But here lies the other story. Many people can't afford to get around these tax loopholes. They might happen to live in MA and have no way to get around paying these taxes. Kerry can do what he wants, not only does the money not matter, but he can just say his wife owns the boat, or that the boat is used for business or whatever.
I just think there could be a good story here somewhere, and just the way Kerry responded to it is a story in itself.
He can "just say?" his wife owns the boat?
So are you suggesting that Kerry bought the boat himself, and then went into the records and retroactively created an LLC in Pittsburgh to appear to buy what's really his boat so he could later pretend that he didn't buy it himself? Wouldn't it just be simpler to assume the records are correct, and that in fact Kerry himself neither bought nor owns this boat?
The sneakiest part of your conspiracy theory would be the part where he pretends his wife has all the money in the family.
Yea he can say whatever he wants.
If he wanted to save money in taxes (which I don't really think he cares about, I think the story is in his approach to this situation), he could tell his wife to buy the boat, keep it in RI for 6 months and then he doesn't have to pay tax in MA but can use it there. I have no idea who uses the boat, but as a US senator, he should be more careful.
He is a resident of Massachusetts who is in a position to raise or lower taxes for the general public. At some point people should have an interest as to where he actually lives and where he pays taxes.
There you go again
What part of Kerry married an insanely rich woman and it's all her money don't you get yet?
Is it sexism that keeps making you assume that any action taken by his wife's corporations is something he did?
Like he told his wife to buy a boat, he told her what corporation to do it with, he did this to avoid taxes...
Pete, it's not his money. He isn't doing anything with it. The one who has the money gets to buy the big yachts. This yacht was bought with ketchup money, like everything else. Kerry's income is just a rounding error on the Heinz fortune.
That may all be true, but I
That may all be true, but I think Pete's point is that Kerry himself is also rich. If the discussion connects to an attitude derived from a wealthy life, Kerry's had that all along, pre and post Teressa.
Attitude
I would agree that he had the attitude. What he was lacking was the money. His folks were a minor branch on a rich tree. They were connected enough to have nice vacations, but not rich enough to pay for his boarding school themselves. Kerry has never had the kind of money it takes to buy a yacht like that himself. Not from his family and not from his career. Only from his wife.
"It is officially owned by a
"It 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." http://bit.ly/a7DQiF
I'ts not about the money.
Her money is his money, they are married aren't they? And why did he end up paying the taxes if the yacht was just going to be used by his wifes business interests? I'm saying that he could say anything he wanted to if he wanted to avoid paying high taxes which would be the thing to do if you weren't a politician that was for high taxes. I'ts still his right to do that but it probably isn't the best political move.
Kerry is married to Theresea and Kerry is a Senator from Massachusetts. So even though they are married and Kerry is a resident of Mass, Theresea is not a resident of MA and lives somewhere else. That's part of the issue here. Is John Kerry a resident of MA and should he do anything possible to pay taxes in the state he lives in?
You want to have a boat in RI and you are a Senator from MA, you should make sure you have your bases covered when answering questions about taxes. He could have answered these questions a million different ways.
I'ts not about the money.
Easy for you to say. It's not your $500,000.
Either you think he owes the taxes or you don't. If you do, then you must have your reasons. Whether he owes the taxes or not is the fundamental question of fairness at stake.
How it "looks" to you and others is subjective. You can argue about it but everyone has a different perspective.
Joint checking account?
Do you imagine that when you marry someone as rich in as many ways as Ms. Heinz that combining your assets is as easy as you or I getting a joint checking account with our wives? The formula "Her money is his money" is neither true in general nor correct in this case. All assets of each married person are not necessarily joint assets of the couple, and her fortune is not all his money.
If the question is "should he do anything possible to pay taxes in the state he lives in," the answer is no. There's nothing immoral in managing the tax consequences of your behavior. You can contribute pre-tax to your 401K. Is that immoral too? You could be paying more, after all. How about having a pre-tax medical savings account? Taking a mortgage deduction? Taking any deductions at all? I would imagine that you act in many ways to mitigate or manage your tax consequences, as do I. Expecting the Kerry/Heinzes to act differently is just foolish.
I expect them to live up to the same legal and moral standard that you or I do vis-a-vis tax obligations. There is nothing in this story to suggest they haven't.
I agree 100% for the most part.
But this whole thing isn't getting him any votes and that is my main point and it is a story.
As I said, he can avoid paying taxes legally the same way I could. But I don't need anyone to vote for me and if I did, I'd be a little more careful and might even try to buy a boat that was built in Massachusetts and register it in Weymouth so it looks like I represent the state I live in. Sure it might not effect the way you vote in the next election, but you can sure bet some more people are going to turn on him.
Forget about the money. It doesn't matter. I was just pointing out that if he really did want to avoid paying taxes, he can do that. I can't because I live in my house in Massachusetts and my wife actually lives in the same house. And again, he can say whatever he wants right? "My wife owns this not me", "my wife paid for this not me", "my wife uses this for work not me", and you could go on and on. I'm just saying it doesn't make him look good thats all.
A story
A story in which the story itself is the story is just a media circle-jerk. Unfortunately, media circle-jerks are a large part of what passes for news these days.
Pete, you avoid taxes in many ways. And if you don't, you're just dumb. If you take a mortgage deduction, you're avoiding paying taxes. It's normal behavior.
And as to what John Kerry could say, I guess he could say Pete Nice is a child molester if he wanted to. The difference is that when Kerry says his wife bought the massive yacht, it's sure to be true. He doesn't have that kind of dough. He never did.
You are missing the story.
First off, a story and news can be different. You don't read the herald for news. You read the Herald for stories. Some are interesting, some are not. The writing is short and usually lame, and the depth is non-existent. You read the New York Times for news and real good stories. Although I would agree there is a good story here somewhere. But anway,
If this was Paul Pierce saying he keeps his boat and cars registered in Florida because he doesn't want to pay MA taxes on them, he can find a way to legally do that, and no one would care. If John Kerry, Deval Patrick, Mitt Romney, or George Bush does the same thing, people do care, because those guys have a direct impact on how much taxes you, me and they have to pay.
You still don't get the money thing. I can't say it was my wifes boat who lives in another state, because the two of us live together in Massachusetts and have no choice but to pay taxes in this state. If my wife lived in Ohio and made 10X as much as I did, I could say she bought the boat, or I could say I bought the boat and pretended it was my money. It doesn't matter where the money comes from. The issue with the money is that Kerry has options as how to avoid taxes if he wanted to. I don't have those options, because like most average people, I don't have the money to have these options.
strawman alert
John Kerry never said "he keeps his boat
and carsregistered inFlorida[RI] because he doesn't want to pay MA taxes on them."Kerry said: "We’ve reached out to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and made clear that, whether owed or not, we intend to pay the equivalent taxes as if the boat’s home-port were currently in Massachusetts."
You've bought into a motive ascribed to Kerry without evidence- that he kept it in RI to avoid tax.
I'm saying politicians are different
than being famous. You can make up all the scenerios or stawman arguments you want. The fact remains that politicians are held to a higher standard for state taxes for states they are supposed to represent.
John Kerry, tax accountant?
It might appear he was trying to skip out on taxes. That's the question The Herald posed. And as you say, whether he was or wasn't trying to skip out on taxes, he must still pay attention to how it looks, which is why he paid the $500,000.
To me, it matters whether he was trying to skip out on taxes.
What is the direct evidence that he and/or Teresa and/or the custodian of Teresa's trust chose Newport mainly to avoid paying MA taxes? What is the best evidence that was their reasoning?
You think Kerry is in charge of saving the big bucks in taxes on Teresa's trust? I don't. I think he's trying to figure out how to get a energy/climate bill through the Senate.
I don't think Kerry is in charge of that.
But I think he has someone on his payroll who makes sure the i's are dotted and t's are crossed. That someone might be fired today though.
And finding evidence to prove Kerry tried to avoid paying taxes would be very hard, even if he was trying to avoid paying taxes. You would have to find out where the boat went, who used it, who docked it, who owns other moorings, who rents those moorings. And like Kaz said earlier, the state didn't even send a bill yet if they were intending on paying taxes.
I think I've got it
The story is: John Kerry's wife is richer than you are. And so is he.
I guess I had my expectations out of order.
But of course the main reason you can't say it was your wife's boat is that... your wife doesn't own a boat. And the main reason John Kerry can say it's not his boat is because it's a matter of public record that the boat is in fact owned by Great Point LLC, based in Pittsburgh - of which Teresa Heinz is a majority stockholder.
For the record, my wife doesn't own a boat either. John Kerry's wife is richer than my wife is. And I avoid taxes every way I can - mortgage deduction, etc. But you're right. When John Kerry does the same thing, it's bad. Because his wife is richer than my wife is.
Married Filing Separately
Nothing prevents Mrs. Nice from establishing her home of record in another state and filing her taxes separately, or registering her car in that other state.
People do this for any number of reasons, all the time, and it isn't limited to the wealthy. Any straight married couple (DOMA sucks) can do it - in fact, many military spouses do it to avoid nonresident taxes on civilian jobs.
If my company transferred me to Seattle and it was a year or so until my husband was able to follow, you bet I would file separately and declare my home residence outside of MA.
.
.
Oh geeze.
Do you really think your average American is looking at John Kerry as some sort of hero becasue he pays taxes to two states because he is such a generous person?
Swirrly, I'm also talking about the fact that Kerry has to maintain some sort of residence in Massachusetts. Would you file seperatly if the MA tax was x% lower than Washingtons? Why would you if you had the choice. You would file in MA. In fact, you would file wherever would be the cheapest, and you have that right. And John Kerry has that right too. But he looks like an ahole in the end and he does get hurt politically.
No WA income tax
If my husband worked in MA and I worked in WA, it would be in our best interests to split the returns.
WA has no income tax. MA claims tax on any income made in state even if the person earning that income lives out of state. In fact, a whole slew of deductions vanish if you live outside MA but work in MA. Ergo, the best tax situation for that residence/job combo would be for him to file MA in state and claim the kids and me to file separately, even though this might not work as well on the federal return.
My point is that you don't have to be wealthy to do this. Any married couple (in the eyes of DOMA) can do so.
I know.
I'm saying your average person wants to pay as little tax as possible, while a politician might want to do everything he can to help his home state out so he might think twice about where he can pay his taxes. It isn't in the politician's best intrest to try to avoid paying taxes in his home state, legal or not. Sometimes it might look bad if you can't explain yourself.
That is part of the story.
And now it is kind of a side discussion: It is bad if John Kerry tries to avoid paying taxes to his home state, even if he has that right. (I'm not saying he did try to avoid paying taxes, but he should have explained it better)
Don't you think Kerry should have just registered the boat in MA in the first place? Not because it would have been the legal thing to do, but it would have been the right thing politically?
He should have registered it in Marshall Islands
and had Deepwater Horizon maintain it.
One Problem with That
It isn't his boat. It is her holding company's boat. Please note what Sock Puppet said above - they are not the same people, and she has all the money.
If you agree 100% "for the most part"
then you don't agree 100%. It's probably somewhere in the 90-95% region.
Yes and no
If a car is garaged and used in Massachusetts for more than 30 days per year, it must be registered and taxed in Massachusetts. If you are a Massachusetts resident and have a vacation house in New Hampshire and keep a car there for local use, there's obviously no need to register it in Massachusetts, even if you make the occasional trip home with it.
Big difference between cars and boats
Disclaimer: I've never voted for Kerry
Having been around boats a lot of my life, I'm kinda familiar with this stuff. People start comparing taxes on cars with taxes and boats, but it's not a fair comparison - it's apples and oranges. They're simply not taxed the same.
First, your residency has nothing to do with the taxes on a boat. The taxes are based on where the boat primarily resides. Yes, that leaves a *huge* grey area, and that's for the Kerry's and MA to battle over. But, the simple rule is that if you live in MA and your boat resides in RI, you owe no MA tax. Conversely, if you live in RI and your boat resides in MA, you pay MA tax. Harbormasters are very in tune with this as they know every boat in the harbor, which ones reside there and which ones are transients. Even in a huge harbor like Newport, they know the status of all the boats.
Since residency has no bearing on taxes, neither does ownership. It shouldn't make any difference whether Kerry is the owner, Theresa, some corporation, a trust, a yacht charter company, or whatever. If the boat resides in RI, it is subject to RI taxes. If the boat resides in MA, then it pays MA taxes, regardless of who/what owns it. And let me say it now, I have no idea what the tax liability is on a boat that is constantly on the move. Generally, a boat declares a home port, and would be subject to those taxes. Any other state that wants to have some dibs on the taxes can make a case if it wishes.
One thing I don't quite get is the 6-month clause that is being used on Kerry. The argument is that if your new boat is ever in MA in the first 6 months, then it is subject to MA tax. I don't understand the intention of this rule. If this is true, then you could tax any schmuck from out of state with a new boat that happens to venture into MA on a weekend cruise. That doesn't make sense.
As for why Kerry keeps the boat in Newport, it's most likely for reasons already brought up. There are few, if any, boat yards that could service a boat like that. First, you need a lift big enough. Second, you need the expertise - this isn't your father's Buick. But, that's probably not the main reason. If the boat needed work, the captain could just take it to Newport from wherever it is - no big deal. They probably want it there for the social aspect, that's all. Saving a half-million in taxes doesn't hurt, but it sure isn't evasion. Between that and the potential charter business, it makes sense.
So, that's my take on the taxes, and it may be out-of-date. If anybody has any facts that contradicts anything here, I'd love to know. It does get messy sometimes.
Nobody buys a yacht for themselves
You'd have to be one crazy mofo to buy a yacht that's ONLY for you. The costs are just insane. Every yacht is a "business investment" because the first thing you do is setup a charter on it so that the other 360 days you're not using it, it has the possibility of recovering some of its cost (and docking, maintenance, crew, etc. costs) through rentals.
Insane costs.
I think Kerry and his wife could buy 10 of these yachts for themselves and not have to worry one bit about costs or taxes.
There are several yachts in Rowes Wharf right now that are worth millions of dollars that are only used by the owner. Of course the owners make tens of millions of dollars a year so they don't really care about it.
It's as much of a business investment...
as a luxury box at Fenway, a company car or an executive jet or fractional jet lease. Hospitality plays a large role in how business is conducted, and every night on the Sox schedule people in luxury boxes and high end seats are deciding who can wire your city with fiber-optic cable, what streaming partner your cable company or internet provider will use or whose company will get the QA rights for the next SSRI medication or pre-natal blood testing. When your conducting business on Kerry and Heinz's level, you have to provide an experience better that what's being offered in the stations below. Hence, the yacht.
I agree
He should "stand up and say so and just refuse to pay MA taxes since the boat wasn't bought in MA and isn't used in MA and isn't even owned by a MA citizen."
Except for the part that sometimes it's used in MA. But it's not his boat. It's "his" boat. Which is to say it's his wife's boat and she lets him ride on it and boss around the crew sometimes. But really he's going to use it less than other people are. He's a busy guy and he's usually in Washington. He doesn't take a lot of vacations, so he'll see it a couple times a year. It will be used more by the people who charter it. (Fun question: who's going to go after the rental income? MA, PA, or RI?)
It's not like he's living on the boat or using it to commute to work. It's more like a vacation condo that they'll rent out for most of the year and spend a week in each summer - except it can move.
This state is teeming with tax scofflaws (like I said, just look for the oranges on the license plates) but this isn't a case of one. It's just a game of paparazzi gotcha. And Kerry fell for it. He should have told the creeps at the Herald to go Cheney themselves.
Better yet
Howie Carr should come clean about how many of his assets are sheltered in other states or countries. Or, maybe, there should be some proper investigative reporting toward that end.
Joe Scaccio is the next Andrew Breitbart
The LLC that owns the sloop is part of a trust that benefits Teresa. Only the LLC and Teresa's trust could have any tax liability, such as the MA use tax. Rent and other revenue will likely not exceed total expense in a given year. I assume it was financed and has interest expense in addition to marina, maintenance and management costs ...so its unlikely to have any taxable income.
No one at the Herald is squawking about a rich person being held up for $.5 million in taxes she doesn't owe.
What's surprising is how Kerry responded to the mob, the same way Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack responded by kowtowing to the mob and firing Sherrod because she was deceptively and dishonestly portrayed as a racist. Kerry is portrayed as a tax scofflaw and it's not true.
Wingnuts want to live in a world were only millionaires can be Senators because people of average incomes couldn't afford to handle being swiftboated with bogus tax scofflaw accusations from conservative "news" organizations, and then buy their way out.
What's interesting is that the story did not come from a hit video on a right wing-nut web site, it came from the Herald.
Something Else from the Herald
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/201...
"A story in Monday’s Herald incorrectly stated that a shooting in Jamaica Plain occurred at the Puerto Rican Festival Parade. The shooting took place about a mile away from Sunday’s parade, police report. The Herald regrets the error."
Yup, and shame on our media
Yup, and shame on our media for not pointing it out, and instead picking up yet another imaginary teabagger talking point.
This is the state of our news, misinformation is ok if it's pure entertainment. And they wonder why they're increasingly becoming irrelevant.
Proven or just full of shit?
I doubt he would have otherwise if he didn't get caught red-handed.
A) He didn't get caught red-handed doing ANYthing.
B) What proof do you have that justifies your doubt in his desire to pay any taxes owed?
C) You're just full of hateful rhetoric.
D) All of the above.
Tax shelters - Good or Bad?
Are you also okay with foriegn tax shelters being used for Exxon and Halliburton? That's essentially the same thing as this.
Wow
That's an exact parallel and a perfectly cromulent argument. You do debating good.
Thank You, Kaz
My only addition would be to question how many reporters and editors assigned to this story actually understand it.
As for East Cambridge, figure this out: The state is getting a free $500,000 check from John Kerry that he doesn't owe. Do you think for a second that this addition to the state coffers -- the lack of which you bemoan in light of your trip to the Registry -- will make the slightest goddamn difference next time you have to register a car?
He doesn't owe? Hello?
He doesn't owe? Hello? HELLO? He lives in Massachusetts, as I do. We have this thing here called the sales tax (6.25% thank you Deval) and the excise tax. It applies to residents of MASSACHUSETTS who want to purchase, own, and operate cars and boats in the Commonwealth. If I have to stand at the Registry and cough up a check for my used car, our senior senator (D, Ketchup) can do the same.
What, no Obama slur?
I thought you Herald folk breathed 'em. Maybe it slipped your mind during all that reading you weren't doing about the Kerry situation and the pursuant tax law... you know, the one that's been explained to you about 30 times since this thread began. Hello? HELLO? HELL-O!!! Wow, did you notify MIT that you've achieved maximum density over there in East Cambridge. Helloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo?
Kerry swerves us on excise and sales tax..
I point it out, and I'm slurring Obama? Who's the knee-jerk reactionary in this picture?
BTW, you left out the obligatory ancillary ad hominen charge of racism.
Any denser ...
And those physicists at MIT are gonna have to stick you in a magnetic bottle before you achieve fusion ... rather than just confusion.
Sales Tax? Can You Read?
My mother in law lives in Brighton but ate at Al Forno in Providence a few weeks ago. Should I ask for a copy of her receipt so I can voluntarily pay the Massachusetts meals tax on pasta I didn't eat in in a state I didn't visit?
Wrong
Actually - no. It doesn't apply to boats. Reesidency has nothing to do with paying taxes on a boat.
"The PT-1099" --a Howie
"The PT-1099"
--a Howie caller this afternoon.
"Lovey, it appears that I shall require a larger allowance."
Hateful...
And mean-spirited!
Isn't Kerry big on the Global Warming swerve? How does a 76 foot tax free yacht affect his carbon footprint?
You get a 4 cylinder Prius. He gets a multi-diesel yacht and a Gulfstream Jet.
Do you know WHO HE IS?
Moron
It's a sailing yacht. The engine is only for docking. It will probably have fewer hours on the water running its engine than you would in your Prius just commuting to work.
Pls. pass the kool-aide
Right. Sailing yacht. No negative envo impact here. After all, it's John Kerry we're talking about, not Al Gore or Prince Charles!
No more kool-aid for you
You've had too much already. We're cutting you off.
Don't be mad
Being stupid AND mad isn't going to solve anything. You'll just raise your risk of a heart attack.
I'm willing to bet you a gallon of unleaded
That my four cylinder Subaru will use less gasoline in a year getting me to and from work than Senator Kerry's 76' "sailing yacht" will in a six month sailing season getting him, guests, and clients around Nantucket (Massachusetts, btw), Narraganset, and the islands.
And who's being stupid, thinking otherwise?
Is Howie back on the air?
Or is he still bullshit he's only getting paid a cool million a year? People that listen to that hack
should stay clear of mocking the rich.
spot on
you took the words right off of my keyboard. I have often wondered what most of his listeners would think if they were able to follow him for a week to and from his comfortable Wellesley abode.
Deja Vu
Didn't we already go through this with Christy Mihos and his boat?
Dear Christ!! Rich people tend to do things to keep their money in their pockets!! I mean, that's sort of why they're rich in many cases (or their parents, spouse's parents, etc.. were doing that). And if we were to look at how many corporate entities register their vessels or their actual businesses in other countries where they pay little to nothing, we'd see a huge list of outstanding corporate citizens (and ships registered in West African nations). Why should we be so shocked that politicians or talk-show personalities would be doing the same thing? If you have to be told that politicians, infotainment figures and other assorted country-club types are hypocrites and general assholes, then I think we should probably break the news to you about Santa and the Easter Bunny.
Don't tell me
Santa registered his sleigh in Liberia?
It's the Herald's Story
The herald breaks this story and yet when Kerry does the right thing, you link to the Globe?
So the Herald owns the story, eh?
Did they register it here or at Purcell's other home in NYC. Hehehehehe
Good question
Here's why: Herald stories disappear behind a paywall after a few days. Globe stories, for the most part, don't. If I have a choice, I'll link to the Globe version of a story for that reason.
That having been said, yes, I was remiss in not linking to the Herald scoop initially. Not because I'm an unrepentant liberal still willing to admit he voted for Kerry in 2004, but because I was busy with other stuff that day (yeah, I need a bigger staff!). Also, I seriously love the Herald's version today, if only because they have managed to cram a remarkable number of puns into the thing, such as the page-1 headline: "ATTA BUOY!"