Every state is different when it comes to taxes.
In Washington, I would need to pay around $200,000 in taxes to register Sans Souci in the state, plus then an annual property tax. The upfront tax is called a luxury tax, but it is analogous to a sales tax.
Foreign flagging might avoid this in Washington state. I have lawyers working on this now. I would have thought this had been tested 100s of times, but the lawyers tell me it is 'muddy'.
If I were planning to have Sans Souci in Washington, I would pay the tax, but we are starting a circumnavigation, after a quick trip to Alaska. It would be nice to have Sans Souci here for a few weeks, but not for $200,000! (plus annual fees). Hence, I suspect Sans Souci will be foreign flagged, until we complete our circumnavigation five to ten years from now.
Our first Sans Souci, the 62, was US flagged while in France for four years, incuding one year before 9/11, and three years afterwards. On Sept 10, 2001, Sans Souci was broken into and the electronics stolen. We were onboard, but slept through all the excitement (thankfully). A large knife on the counter was all the villains left behind. It's a long story, but we drove from Monaco to Normandy, and then flew home.
In subsequent years, there was some tension between the US and France. Also, France has a large Muslim population. We never had a problem beyond dirty looks while in port, but decided that we would take down the flag while in some ports.
Hopefully, politics will settle down by the time we start crossing the Pacific, and this will never again be an issue.
-Ken W
PS I asked the lawyers if we could just explain to the tax department of Washington State that the boat would only be here for a few weeks, and get some special permission. They explained that I don't understand government bureaucracys. They don't make exceptions.
| Williams, Ken |
2006-11-07 19:45:36
|