Owners of sailboats, canoes and small fishing boats will no longer be paying taxes on par with those who own cabin cruisers and houseboats.

Legislators unanimously reclassified a number of "water vehicles" during Monday's special session in an effort to bring property taxes more in line with their comparable values. The amendments were attempting to repair a mistake made when the assessment of boats was changed to an age-based system last year.

Now, boats with motors smaller than 150 cubic centimeters — such as pontoon boats or sailboats — will be assessed at a rate of between $15 and $75, depending on the length. An unmotorized boat will only be assessed $10 per year, regardless of length.

Before the new classifications, owners of those small-motor, recreational boats could have been assessed as much as $700. In some cases, the fee was more than the boat was actually worth.

"This change will mean that the guy with the canoe doesn't get charged the same as the guy with the cabin cruiser," said Rep. Patrick Painter, R-Nephi, the bill's sponsor.

Although the new fees were assessed this year, anybody who was impacted will be refunded the difference between their payments this year and next. It is estimated that the refund will cost about $60,000 statewide.

Boat owners who qualify for the refund will not have to apply for it, as was previously proposed. Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said that it did not make sense to force taxpayers to apply for a refund they automatically qualify to receive.

"All taxpayers should be treated the same, whether they know about this change or not," he said.

The boat tax amendments were one of three bills the Legislature approved during the special session. Another bill delayed the implementation of new lien laws to May 1 so legal issues that could have caused problems with construction can be resolved during the next general session. And a third bill, which was the main reason for calling the special session, carved the state into four congressional districts in anticipation of Congress granting Utah a fourth seat in the U.S. House.

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E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com