Industry rejects NSW Labor’s boat tax plan

Opposition leader Michael Daly announced last week that he would raise an extra $240 million for the state’s coffers by introducing duties on any boats costing more than $200,000, and on cars costing more than $100,000.

The money would be used to help pay for guaranteed nurse-to-patient ratios in NSW hospitals.

For boats, new and second-hand buyers will have to pay a duty of $7600 and an extra $9 for every $100 above $200,000. However, if the boat costs more than $300,000, buyers will have to dig deeper and pay an extra $12 for every $100 above $300,000.

On a $930,300 Riviera 39 Sports Motor Yacht, this equates to more than $92,000 in duty.

Industry lobby group the Boating Industry Association warned the duty would bring more hardship to an industry that was still struggling to recover from the 2008-09 Global Financial Crisis, as well as punishing hard working boaters and retirees.

“The Boating Industry Association was surprised by Labor’s announcement to tax boat owners,” BIA president Alan Blake said. “The tax will drive sales and jobs way from NSW to other states and sadly, the perception that boats over the value of $200,000 are a tax on the wealthy is fundamentally wrong.

“Many vessels of that value are owned by families, retirees, groups of hard-working, hard-saving mates who have grouped their savings to pursue their passion for being outdoors, or those who have joined in a share boat arrangement through a club,” Blake said.

“The proposed tax will hurt working families who enjoy boating and the many small businesses and their employees who service them.”

The duty will affect new and used boats over about 8.0 metres in length. According to figures supplied to boatsales.com.au, more than 700 new vessels ranging between 8.0 and 45.0 metres were registered in the state in the 2017-18 financial year.

As well, more than 1000 boats costing more than $200,000 from brands including Azimut, Beneteau, Caribbean, Chris Craft, Fairline, Greenline, Jeanneau, Princess, Pursuit, Riviera, Sea Ray and Sunseeker, and located in NSW, are listed on the boatsales.com.au website.

The BIA said NSW Labor’s estimate of the number of boats sold each year in the state was less than it had calculated, and the revenue the duty would raise was “significantly overstated”.

“There are plenty of international examples, including taxes introduced by [former US] President [Bill] Clinton in the USA in the early 1990s where taxes on boats, like that proposed by Labor, were implemented then quickly abandoned as they didn’t raise the predicted tax revenue and devastated the local industry,” the BIA said.

“The BIA implores the Labor Party to not repeat these mistakes and send jobs and business to other states.”

Similar to Victoria’s state election in november last year, the NSW Labor Party is angling for votes by promising fishers a bigger say in how the $15 million collected annually from licence fees is spent.

The move comes in the wake of the Berejiklian government announcing, and then rescinding, plans to introduce new marine sanctuaries in the state that would have locked fishers out of a number of popular sites, including in Sydney Harbour.

Car buyers already pay a luxury car tax levied byu the federal government. The car brands have often pointed out that the tax is not levied against other luxury items, includuing boats.