NSW goes to the polls this weekend and while the Flagstaff Marine team prefers to keep the politics out of our time on the water, we think it’s important that our community is aware of a proposed Labor policy to introduce a new stamp duty on boats.
NSW Labor has announced that it will impose a duty on the sale of all boats with a value of $200,000 or more, starting at $7,600, and increasing by $9 for every $100 above $200,000 and then $12 for every $100 over $300,000.
This will result in a boat sold for $500,000 attracting duty of $40,000, while a million dollar boat will add an extra $100,000. Labor said it expects the duty to apply to the top 3% of boats sold.
Flagstaff Marine Director Graham Raspass has this to say about the proposal:
“When a political party, whatever its persuasion, proposes a policy that will have a negative effect on our industry and those who work in it, we feel we need to speak out against it. The announcement by Labor is lacking in detail and what details have been shared show that this policy has not been thoroughly thought through or researched.”
The Boating Industry Association (BIA) president Alan Blake made the following comments on the proposed tax:
“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.
The proposed tax will hurt working families who enjoy boating and the many small businesses and their employees who service them.”
You can learn more about the proposed tax in the recent Marine Business article here. We encourage you to read it so you can be informed about proposed changes and how they may impact our industry.
