Once again the Stealth Tax Man is trying to go in the back door.

The Board of Equalization has before it PROPERTY TAX RULE 23.2 that makes it easier for the tax assessor to get more of your boating dollar.

Please ask your members to send a email to RBOC in care of desmond@ixnetcom.com.

Each Club should send a letter on their stationary directly to the Board of Equalization.The address is on the attachment.

I asked Phil Eaton our "legal beagle," otherwise known as our judge advocate to explain to me what this means and his is reply is as follows:

"Public property is not taxable, but a private possessory interest in public property is. Examples include marinas, public land and/or buildings leased by yacht clubs (and other businesses), airplane tie downs at public airports, publicgrazing land, etc., etc.

Presently the assessed value of lease hold interests are determined by the stated term of the lease, the rent, and a capitalization rate.The Tax Assessor may contend there is actually a "gentleman's agreement" for a longer term lease, but in order to take that into consideration the assessor has to prove it by "clear and convincing evidence". This is difficult. Consequently many of the shorter term leases that get renewed almost automatically continue to get assessed based on the term of the lease.

The new proposal would carve out an exception for ports and harbors, and allow the tax assessor to take custom, practice and other matters into consideration, and the burden of proof would be a "preponderance of evidence". This is a much easier burden, and one could envision a scenario in which a slip renter who rents directly from the city, or port district, or county would see his possessory interest tax jump 1000% or more because he has been in that slip for so long...

Or, worse, a yacht club periodically renewing 5 year land leases that has been at the same location for years might be looking at a huge increase... ad nauseam...

In a nutshell, the proposal is to ease the restricitions on tax assessors' procedures for evaluating possessory interests, and to ease the burden of proof placed on the tax assessor who wants to show the written agreement is not the real deal."

Hence, the necessity to get some letters of opposition to the Board of Equalization.

What to do.

1. There are two sample letters linked here, one for the Yacht Club and one for Yacht Club Members.
2. Use the appropriate letter
3. change the "yellowed highlighted areas"
4. Email to the completed desmond@ixnetcom.com of RBOC.