Sailboat owners hope for fee relief

The price of boating on two Utah lakes almost doubled this year, and it has nothing to do with gas prices.

A change in tax law has saddled some sailboat owners with registration fees significantly higher than they paid in previous years, sticking them with a bill that is the same paid by owners of generally more valuable motorized cruisers that are of a similar age and length. In Utah, sailboats are generally only used on the Great Salt Lake or Bear Lake.

"Sailors, contrary to belief, are not wealthy — they are frugal," said Dave Shearer, a sailboat owner who also runs Sid's Sports, a new- and used-sailboat dealer. "When the fees on a 30-year-old boat that used to be $60 more than double, it has a huge impact."

Luckily for sailors, that impact may only be short-term. Sen. Curtis Bramble, who sponsored the widespread changes to the property taxes for many classes of personal property in 2005, said that lumping sailboats in with the other, more expensive boats was a mistake that he intends to remedy next year or during a special session this year, if one is scheduled.

For boats, motorcycles and other recreational vehicles, the revised tax laws shifted the registration from a value-based system to an age-based system. The new system — which now matches the way cars are taxed — also requires registration to be paid annually in the month of purchase, instead of in April.

The changes were crafted over a four-year period, during which time they heard from many groups representing many different interests, especially in regard to recreational activities such as boating and RV travel. One of the few groups they did not hear from, Bramble said, was sailboat owners.

"It's unfortunate we didn't recognize that unequitable outcome," Bramble said. "But this could be a wake-up call to citizens, that they have the responsibility to voice their concerns during the process."

Most likely, a provision for motor size would be used to differentiate sailboats from power boats, Bramble said. They would also be changed so as they take effect for next year's registrations.

In the meantime, sailboat owners are also encouraged to approach their county's legislative body and ask for a fee deferral or a credit on next year's registration. The deferrals can only be granted on a case-by-case basis, said Pam Hendrickson, a member of the Utah Tax Commission and owner of two sailboats on the Great Salt Lake.

So far, the commission has not heard a lot of complaints, she said. But they are aware of the changes for some owners.

"We first started worrying about this when we sent notices out," she said. "Although we haven't had many, the complaints we have received were pretty big changes."

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