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OliverM5
04-17-2006, 10:47 AM
Got a letter in the mail from the L.A. tax assessor - looks like they want to charge property tax on my 23' Scarab......is this for real? :mad:

Phat Matt
04-17-2006, 10:47 AM
Yep.

deltarat
04-17-2006, 10:50 AM
Its for real

C-2
04-17-2006, 10:54 AM
Yup, it's real.
Just spoke to a guy that said he wasn't paying ~ his credit score not nailed 40 points when they put a lien on him. Don't let it go to lien status - not worth being reported on your credit report for 10 years AFTER the date the lien is satisfied.
Search for the numerous other threads on what to do. :)

phebus
04-17-2006, 10:58 AM
Luxury tax= 1%
That's why a lot of folks that use their boats more than 50% of the time in AZ waters, register them in AZ. The registration is more, but you don't pay the luxury tax, so on most boats, you realize a net savings.

Phat Matt
04-17-2006, 11:03 AM
Yup, it's real.
Just spoke to a guy that said he wasn't paying ~ his credit score not nailed 40 points when they put a lien on him. Don't let it go to lien status - not worth being reported on your credit report for 10 years AFTER the date the lien is satisfied.
Search for the numerous other threads on what to do. :)
I got hit last year. I paid it on time and they still sent me a bill. I called them and they said I owed it. They sent me a lien letter so I paid it again. They attached a lien on me this year. Then they said they made a mistake and sent me a refund for the secind payment. I still had to clear up the lien though. The lien is off but it is still on my credit. The damn lien should have never been there in the first place and I have to deal with this BS.

Bolties
04-17-2006, 11:06 AM
I know the feeling, I was paying $990 a year! And, since we sold it two weeks into Jan, they forced us to pay for all of 2006 too! Even though we no longer have it!!! Thanks for the reminder, now I'm all heated again! :mad: We now know to not make the mistake of registering in CA. WHAT A CRIME!!!! As if we all don't pay enough in insurance already :messedup:

Havasu_Dreamin
04-17-2006, 11:07 AM
Register as an out of state resident in AZ. Boat has to be out of CA on January 1 AND must be used greater than 50% of the time outside of CA. Even better if you store it in AZ. BTW, the Coast Guard requires that you register your boat in the state in which you use it greater than 50% of the time.

boatnam2
04-17-2006, 11:15 AM
pretty much the same thing that happened to phat matt happened to me.still on my credit 5 years later and knocking down my fico.thanks uncle sam(FU--ING PR-CKS)

Steamin' Rice
04-17-2006, 11:29 AM
yep it's for real.. break out the checkbook..

laveydayz
04-17-2006, 11:29 AM
Welcome to California...what a crock huh!!!

GAME TIME
04-17-2006, 11:54 AM
So should you register when your CA registration is due or as soon as possible? I had my old boat registered in AZ but with the new one the lien holder would not give a loan to a boat registered in AZ so I had to go CA. Just thinking when I should register it in AZ.

phebus
04-17-2006, 12:02 PM
If it spends one day of the year registered as a CA vessel, you pay the luxury tax. So, make sure you get it done before the first of the year to avoid the luxury tax for next year.

GAME TIME
04-17-2006, 12:14 PM
Propr to Dec 31 Joey. You are going to get hit for this year though.
:cry: :cry: :cry: This is not going to be pretty.

SHIFTY
04-17-2006, 12:25 PM
must be used greater than 50% of the time outside of CA.
HOW COULD ANYONE PROVE OTHERWISE?

LhcBrad
04-17-2006, 12:27 PM
I found out the hard way they want 11 more dollars to have the lien lifted from your credit. I pulled a credit report and the lien was still there even though it had been paid in full so i have to send another $11.
You just cant win with uncle sam!!!

Havasu_Dreamin
04-17-2006, 12:29 PM
HOW COULD ANYONE PROVE OTHERWISE?
Launch receipts or proof that you were out of CA on the weekends you say you were. Not saying it will happen but it could happen if they deicded to enforce the tax assessment very stringently. I keep all of my launch receipts.

SoCalSouthpaw
04-17-2006, 12:32 PM
Its no joke - well, it is a joke...personal property taxes. If you own an aircraft, CA can even put a personal property tax on the friggen tie-downs for the aircraft. Find a buddy in AZ. Register the thing in AZ as a resident. Best solution if you can get away with it.

C-2
04-17-2006, 12:34 PM
And to clarify, it's Personal property tax. Real property (real estate) is taxed at 1.1% and I think Personal property tax varies a bit more by county. It's the same tax levied against machinery, even computers and radio equipment in an office. It's assessed every year.
Even though it may cost you several hundred dollars now - if you wanna play hard ass - you will pay for it in the end.
Pay it, learn from it, correct it and move on. Whatever you do - don't disregard it!

SHIFTY
04-17-2006, 12:36 PM
Launch receipts or proof that you were out of CA on the weekends you say you were. Not saying it will happen but it could happen if they deicded to enforce the tax assessment very stringently. I keep all of my launch receipts.
I LAUNCH ON A PRIVATELY OWNED RAMP IN NEEDLES, RIGHT OUT OF MY BUDDY's BACK YARD... NOW WHAT?

Dave C
04-17-2006, 12:36 PM
When they ask you for the value of the boat and the trailer don't forget to estimate high on the trailer thereby lowering the value of the boat ;)
Also don't forget to deduct that county tax on your income taxes.

C-2
04-17-2006, 12:40 PM
I found out the hard way they want 11 more dollars to have the lien lifted from your credit. I pulled a credit report and the lien was still there even though it had been paid in full so i have to send another $11.
You just cant win with uncle sam!!!
The part that sux is it will remain on your credit for ten years from the time they receive your additional $11. Technically the lien wil be exhausted, but since it was filed correctly - it won't be removed from your credit.
To make things worse - FICO scoring models don't differentiate between a $1mil open tax lien and a $.050 open tax lien. They score them both the same - a lien is a lien.
Sorry for the info :(

Sandbar Mike
04-17-2006, 12:50 PM
Our Force was registered in CA for a month just so we could close our loan. I immediatly registered it in AZ and insured it in AZ. When CA tried to get me for the Luxery Tax I sent them copies of my AZ Reg and Insurance, I got lucky they left me alone.

Havasu_Dreamin
04-17-2006, 12:57 PM
I LAUNCH ON A PRIVATELY OWNED RAMP IN NEEDLES, RIGHT OUT OF MY BUDDY's BACK YARD... NOW WHAT?
I have no phucking idea and truthfully don't give a rats ass. All I was stating was what the laws/regulations are.

SHIFTY
04-17-2006, 01:02 PM
I have no phucking idea and truthfully don't give a rats ass. All I was stating was what the laws/regulations are.
I'm NOT SUGGESTING THAT YOU DO KNOW, I WAS JUST ASKING. THERE MUST BE A REASON EVERYONE DOESN't JUST REGISTER IN AZ, I'm JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE REASONS AS TO WHY. MAYBE THERE IS A WAY FOR THEM TO KNOW YOU DON't USE YOUR BOAT IN AZ, I'm WONDERING HOW?

Havasu_Dreamin
04-17-2006, 01:05 PM
I'm NOT SUGGESTING THAT YOU DO KNOW, I WAS JUST ASKING. THERE MUST BE A REASON EVERYONE DOESN't JUST REGISTER IN AZ, I'm JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE REASONS AS TO WHY. MAYBE THERE IS A WAY FOR THEM TO KNOW YOU DON't USE YOUR BOAT IN AZ, I'm WONDERING HOW?
Ok, first off, try not and type in all CAPS as it implies you are yelling which is why I responded in the manner that I did.
Now, to your question. There must be someway as people seem to get these things out of the blue. The biggest issue is being out of state on January 1 I think which is why even if it is in storage in AZ you're better off.

SHIFTY
04-17-2006, 01:18 PM
THAT WAS MY OTHER QUESTION, HAHAHA. AFTER CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP, I REGISTERED MY BOAT IN MY NAME IN AZ. (IT WAS PREVIOUSLY REGISTERED IN AZ., BY THE GUY THAT I BOUGHT IT FROM WHO LIVES IN BAKERSFIELD).
AZ. FISH AND GAME ASKED "WHAT STATE IS THE BOAT IN NOW?" I RESPONDED WITH ARIZONA (IT's HERE AT MY OFFICE IN SUN VALLEY), AND THEY SAID "OK". JUST WONDERING HOW WOULD ANYONE KNOW, UNLESS I FILED A CLAIM THAT IT WAS STOLEN FROM HERE IN CA.?

C-2
04-17-2006, 02:13 PM
THAT WAS MY OTHER QUESTION, HAHAHA. AFTER CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP, I REGISTERED MY BOAT IN MY NAME IN AZ. (IT WAS PREVIOUSLY REGISTERED IN AZ., BY THE GUY THAT I BOUGHT IT FROM WHO LIVES IN BAKERSFIELD).
AZ. FISH AND GAME ASKED "WHAT STATE IS THE BOAT IN NOW?" I RESPONDED WITH ARIZONA (IT's HERE AT MY OFFICE IN SUN VALLEY), AND THEY SAID "OK". JUST WONDERING HOW WOULD ANYONE KNOW, UNLESS I FILED A CLAIM THAT IT WAS STOLEN FROM HERE IN CA.?
Slim chance...but
The county assessor has field inspectors who go out to businesses. An inspection can vary from detailed, to a simple looksy into your office to identify how many phone systems you have, computer terminals, machinery etc. They asses a value and that's how small businesses get taxed on personal property. If your boat is at your biz, this could happen. Unlikely, but would never happen if the boat was at your house (boats and Sea Doos are personal property).
In beach areas - inspectors walk the docks/slips, grabbing CF numbers and running them. Hard to get out of that type of inspection!
And, of course, DMV and the California Secretary of State (via their UCC division), Franchise Tax Board and other taxing agencies also SHARE info.
I think AZ ia a titleless state and all boat purchases are wrapped by UCC filings (a UCC filing is a notice to the public their is an existing lien against your property).
That's how they collect Personal property tax info. Nothing magical, mostly only cross-refeencing their sources.

Essex502
04-17-2006, 05:15 PM
Got a letter in the mail from the L.A. tax assessor - looks like they want to charge property tax on my 23' Scarab......is this for real? :mad:
Gawd...how many times does this come up each year....do a search on this board and you'll find all the answers you can want.

Tinkerer
04-17-2006, 05:29 PM
It's not uncle sam - IT's just Kalifornia

Boatcop
04-17-2006, 06:16 PM
Just registering it in AZ is no cure for the CA Personal Property Tax on boats.
They can, and do, cross check boat trailers and boats. Since the trailer has to be registered in CA, it may catch up to you. They may want slip or storage receipts to show that the boat is stored out-of-state.
If they do catch up to you, the past taxes, fees, penalties, interest, etc. may be more than the boat is worth. Some have had to sell their boats to pay the tax bill.