N.H. lawmakers decide not to tax private marinas
CONCORD, N.H. – Lawmakers in New Hampshire have agreed not to tax privately-owned boat slips and marinas on the state’s seacoast, the Foster’s Daily Democrat reported in a story on its Web site Monday.
State House and Senate members came to a compromise that will allow the Port Authority to tax slips at state-owned piers and docks. However, lawmakers eliminated language that takes away the state’s power to tax private slips throughout the Seacoast, according to the newspaper.
When the bill came out of the House, it allowed the state to tax all private slips in tidal waters. This did not include fresh water slips on the state’s lakes and ponds. However, the Senate took the ability to assess any fee out of the legislation, meaning the state could not tax public or private boat slips, the Daily Democrat reported.
“Taxing private slips and marinas was definitely not the way to go and we wanted to make that perfectly clear,” Sen. Martha Fuller Clark, D-Portsmouth, said.
Jodi Grimbilas, lobbyist for the New Hampshire Marine Trades Association, said she was pleased to see lawmakers eliminate the possibility of taxing private slips.
“We were very concerned about a new tax because many of the private marinas are already taxed as real property, and we saw this as double taxation,” Grimbilas told the newspaper. “We are pleased the House and Senate recognized this.”
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