NY caps sales tax on boats

Within hours of New York’s legislature signing its budget into law — a $142 billion budget with a controversial cap on sales tax due for vessels worth more than $230,000 — Capt. Tedd Greenwald had cancelled his yacht’s reservations for Connecticut and moved the owner’s yacht operations to New York City. The American-flagged 82-foot Viking will be homeported in the America’s largest city when it is delivered later this spring.

“It’s a big game changer for us,” Capt. Greenwald said. “The owner is registering the boat in New York state and our home port is New York City. I guess we can have a big apple house flag.”

New York lawmakers passed the state budget early this morning that caps sales tax on private plane and boats. Buyers will only pay state sales tax on the first $230,000 of the purchase price, making New York competitive with Florida and other East Coast states. The cap will take effect June 1.