VT to tax us some more

[mudchuck]

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2024/H.51

$20 a year in addition to fishing licenses, boat/trailer registrations, sale tax collected from bait/tackle sales.

This goes not just for boats, but ALL watercraft, kayaks, canoes, paddleboards...inflata ble types too.

Unreal how brazen this is to all of us that already paid taxes to use state waterways!!!

[vt-jig]

With more and more people using the waterways , they certainly get their money from the taxes and fees already in place.      But any chance it's to offset the additional stress that the massive "Covid got me into outdoor recreation" crowd may theoretically be causing?

[mudchuck]

With more and more people using the waterways , they certainly get their money from the taxes and fees already in place.      But any chance it's to offset the additional stress that the massive "Covid got me into outdoor recreation" crowd may theoretically be causing?

Regardless of COVID got me into outdoor recreational activities, this is outrageous to tax people who already pay registration fees on watercraft for the purpose of cleaning up the waterways.
I get that there are numerous Canadian & other out of state watercraft in our waterways, so why not "tax" them with a usage fee since they're not registered here?
Or perhaps charge a toll fee for them going thru the gut draw bridge which is just about done with the upgrades now (that we're ALL paying for), why should Canadians get a free pass on using the waterway?

To impose additional fees on those that already pay fees for this (fishing licenses, boat/trailer regs, bait/tackle sales tax, motorized watercraft fuels & lubes etc) is just flat out wrong...it's basically double taxation!
If they want to clean up the waterways using funding streams, I suggest the state legislature look into drawbridge tolls, charge a fee for dumping sewerage in the designated areas.
Might also be time to push registrations onto canoes/kayaks/paddleboards instead of a yearly usage fee that they're trying to make a one size fits all solution.

[EyERipLip]

Meanwhile our lakes and rivers are more polluted than ever. Our infrastructure for sewer waste is essentially non existent to the point where they have stopped even reporting the massive spills in the waterways anymore and our boat launches are typically some of the poorest maintained launches in the country. But they really need another $20 from us.

[mudchuck]

Meanwhile our lakes and rivers are more polluted than ever. Our infrastructure for sewer waste is essentially non existent to the point where they have stopped even reporting the massive spills in the waterways anymore and our boat launches are typically some of the poorest maintained launches in the country. But they really need another $20 from us.

Money is already there, it's just mis-managed by bureaucrats, and pilfered by the general assembly to some extent, also cannot seem to get contractors to bid on repair/replacement/upgrade to boat launches - been watching the decline in bidders for several years now.

Waterway pollution is another topic that could be handled differently than a $20 tax on watercraft.
Don't be alarmed when they figure out how to tax the air you breathe...

[fishingidjit]

YOU get what you vote for. 

[darkeyez]

YOU get what you vote for. 

EXACTLY, and not any better here in PA!
Face it, nothing involving Govt. will ever have enough money, seems like it's always "we need more" and they keep figuring out more and more ways to get it, and as mentioned, more and more ways to waste or mis-manage it.
I always like to relate this!
While in the Navy I was in charge of a small boat, and every month I got a chit for supplies to maintain that boat. One month I didn't spend the entire amount allocated by the chit and thought I did good! The officer I reported to told me not to do that because if I didn't use close to the amount allocated they would cut back the amount, and then when I needed more supplies I wouldn't be able to get them. OK, my engineman then got tools with whatever was left over and immediately sent them home, that took care of that! 
THEN, saw a bunch of 471 blowers deep sixed, because they didn't show up in inventory, yea, our tax dollars at work, and this is nothing compared to the big picture!!!!

[pikeaddict]

The one good thing to this is the people that buy a paddleboard or kayak and don't buy a license, register a boat/trailer, or buy bait/tackle will have to pay to play.

[aquarium234]

After they add this I'm sure they'll hold a panel to try and discover why less people are going out on the water.........Hope they don't get the bright idea to add it to our winter sleds. Imagine the cost in some of our multiple sled caravans we take out onto the ice....

[vt-jig]

The one good thing to this is the people that buy a paddleboard or kayak and don't buy a license, register a boat/trailer, or buy bait/tackle will have to pay to play.

As a kayak user myself, I definitely agree with you.     Once mountain bikes start needing tax stamps,  I'm out though   

[mudchuck]

YOU get what you vote for. 

WELL, I DIDN'T VOTE FOR ANY OF THIS, OR THOSE THAT ARE SELECTED TO OFFICE AND WROTE THIS STUPID TAX LAW IN THE FIRST PLACE!
I am certainly a disenfranchised voter, to the point of taxation without representation...

[fishingidjit]

WELL, I DIDN'T VOTE FOR ANY OF THIS, OR THOSE THAT ARE SELECTED TO OFFICE AND WROTE THIS STUPID TAX LAW IN THE FIRST PLACE!
I am certainly a disenfranchised voter, to the point of taxation without representation...

My ancestors moved into VT in the late 1700's from Maine. I moved out rather than deal with the liberal trash in Montpelier.

[vt-jig]

WELL, I DIDN'T VOTE FOR ANY OF THIS, OR THOSE THAT ARE SELECTED TO OFFICE AND WROTE THIS STUPID TAX LAW IN THE FIRST PLACE!
I am certainly a disenfranchised voter, to the point of taxation without representation...

 I agree with you, on the fact that the additional taxation isn't warranted.  Please don't mistake my question as a dispute of the fact.      BUT, I DO have a question in the works.     You have been a member of this board a long time, and have posted some great content in the time that I've been a member.    You are likely a better fisherman than myself, and you obviously are incredibly passionate about the lifestyle, as most of us are.       The burning question is:  Are the fish you catch and the memories you make NOT worth an extra 20 bucks, even if the state is entirely wrong in asking for it? I don't catch a ton of fish, but I'd happily pay the additional 20 bucks for the chance to try.          Not trying to dig ya in any way,  I just wanted to fully see your POV as a fellow angler, and what better way than to ask 

[mudchuck]

 I agree with you, on the fact that the additional taxation isn't warranted.  Please don't mistake my question as a dispute of the fact.      BUT, I DO have a question in the works.     You have been a member of this board a long time, and have posted some great content in the time that I've been a member.    You are likely a better fisherman than myself, and you obviously are incredibly passionate about the lifestyle, as most of us are.       The burning question is:  Are the fish you catch and the memories you make NOT worth an extra 20 bucks, even if the state is entirely wrong in asking for it? I don't catch a ton of fish, but I'd happily pay the additional 20 bucks for the chance to try.          Not trying to dig ya in any way,  I just wanted to fully see your POV as a fellow angler, and what better way than to ask 

I'm growing long in the tooth, and have fished all over in my lifetime.
Won't be long before I'm fully retired and fixed income, so there's that...
So IMO, no, I already have a lifetime of memories fishing VT & LC, along with other places thru-out the world.
That said, I'm also growing increasingly tired of govt (fed/state/local) encroaching on fishing (and hunting/trapping) with their overreach by taxing this way being proposed in  the statehouse now, on top of the taxes I/we already pay for this "privilege" with the licenses/registrations, sales & use taxes I've mentioned.
I'm not against fund raising for cleanup, and certainly taxes are important to this means, however, taxing those that are already taxed as I've previously stated it wrong. I'm not against those that are recreational users of the state waterways that are not holding fishing licenses, or power watercraft registrations, I'm inclined to think to may be logical for a usage tax.

Don't get me started on fishing the ocean...

Used to be (and still is in some worldly locations) that only aristocrats (elites) had the "right" to hunt/fish, and "commoners" (who pay taxes!) are denied to right to hunt/fish...some of this is due to land ownership (which is another subject). So won't be long before we here in the USA have to deal with these same situations, which technically is & has been going on for a long time with private property ownership vs. public access.

[JMailbox8]

I say a better plan would be similar to what Colorado does. No one is allowed to use any State boat launch without its operator owning a fishing license. Then let that revenue funnel where it needs to through VTF&W. All those kayakers and paddleboarders clogging the boat ramps and not contributing to the maintenance of those ramps need to pay up.

[mudchuck]

I say a better plan would be similar to what Colorado does. No one is allowed to use any State boat launch without its operator owning a fishing license. Then let that revenue funnel where it needs to through VTF&W. All those kayakers and paddleboarders clogging the boat ramps and not contributing to the maintenance of those ramps need to pay up.

And ANR/BGS can't even get contractors to bid on upgrades to many of these state launches, and when they do get quotes, they don't like the price or only received 1 bid quote so they either cancel the project or put it out for rebid, which gets nowhere...