Tag Archives: Washington

Last week, the Washington State Department of Revenue held a hearing to finalize the watercraft excise tax depreciation schedule. The Department of Revenue proposed a final rule which reflected input from stakeholders in the marine industry and placed less of a financial burden on boat owners than the originally proposed excise tax schedule. In June, MRAA joined regional and national ...

NMMA hosted more than 10 top political and policy reporters from major Beltway and national publications for a boat cruise up the Potomac River. The boat outing is part of NMMA’s strategic plan to expand the association’s profile in Washington, D.C. among key constituencies, including the media. During the event, NMMA representatives provided insights about the recreational boating industry to ...

In the late 1990’s the U.S. government was running a budget surplus with plans to be totally out of debt by 2006. Shortly after the new millennium our leaders decided to cut taxes, add prescription drugs as a new Medicare entitlement, and fight two wars on a credit card, all of which created significant annual deficits and turned a good ...

William Higgins recently came on board as the public policy manager for the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas. Before joining MRAA, Higgins worked in both the U.S. House and Senate and most recently worked for a consulting firm on state and local issues. Boating Industry talked to him about his role and some of his goals for MRAA. What ...

It’s time again for Mr. Boater (and dealer and manufacturer and …) to make plans to go to Washington. The annual American Boating Congress will be held May 11-13 at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. ABC is one of the best chances to effect change in public policy for anyone working (or playing) in the boating industry. ABC is ...

With the 114th Congress taking office this month, it’s time for issues new and old to take center stage again. Boating Industry talked to Nicole Vasilaros, director of regulatory and legal affairs at the National Marine Manufacturers Association, about some of the key legislative issues facing the marine industry and what we can expect from the new Republican Congress. We ...