First, here is Senator John Kerry, the haughty French looking Massachusetts Democrat who by the way served in Vietnam. He never made his own money; he did it in the more acceptable way in higher society. He married it. And he is not afraid of taxing your income. Hell there is no amount of money he will not tax as long as it’s not his. For instance:
Sen. John Kerry, who has repeatedly voted to raise taxes while in Congress, dodged a whopping six-figure state tax bill on his new multimillion-dollar yacht by mooring her in Newport, R.I.
Isabel - Kerry’s luxe, 76-foot New Zealand-built Friendship sloop with an Edwardian-style, glossy varnished teak interior, two VIP main cabins and a pilothouse fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage - was designed by Rhode Island boat designer Ted Fontaine.
But instead of berthing the vessel in Nantucket, where the senator summers with the missus, Teresa Heinz, Isabel’s hailing port is listed as “Newport” on her stern.
Could the reason be that the Ocean State repealed its Boat Sales and Use Tax back in 1993, making the tiny state to the south a haven - like the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Nassau - for tax-skirting luxury yacht owners?
Cash-strapped Massachusetts still collects a 6.25 percent sales tax and an annual excise tax on yachts. Sources say Isabel sold for something in the neighborhood of $7 million, meaning Kerry saved approximately $437,500 in sales tax and an annual excise tax of about $70,000.
It can't be the money can it? No of course not. Just listen to his people.
The senior senator’s chief of staff David Wade denied the old salt was berthing his boat out of state to avoid ponying up to the commonwealth.
“The boat was designed by and purchased from a company in Rhode Island, and it’s based in Newport at the Newport Shipyard for long-term maintenance, upkeep and charter purposes, not tax reasons,” Wade told the Track.
Right......
However, according to Bliss, if Kerry berths the Isabel in Massachusetts waters within six months of purchasing the boat, there’s a “presumption of use” and the Heinz-Kerrys would have to walk the plank and pony up to the Bay State. After six months, should the boat change its berth to, say, Nantucket, then it’s up to the state to go after them for the taxes, Bliss added.I don't think Massachusetts has to worry about that.
Not to be outdone, here is billionaire leftist Democrat Jeff Greene, senate canidate from Florida.
On a Tuesday morning five years ago, Summerwind, a three-story, 145-foot luxury yacht, maneuvered above the celebrated barrier reef that lines the coast of Belize.
There it dropped anchor -- and plunged into controversy over severe damage to a coral reef system officially recognized by the United Nations as one of the world's most magnificent and irreplaceable treasures.
``The guys from the area told me they were beside the boat before it dropped anchor, and they were yelling and waving their hands, shouting, `No! No, don't drop here,' '' recounted Melanie McField, a marine scientist with the Smithsonian Institution who surveyed the reef soon after the incident. ``It was bad. There was a lot of damage.''
The owner of that yacht? Billionaire Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Greene.
The real-estate mogul from Palm Beach was not aboard the boat at the time. And, oddly, Greene today says the incident never happened, despite extensive publicity about it at the time (including statements from his representatives), eyewitness accounts, scientific surveys of the damage and an extensive case file at the country's Department of Environment.
``Jeff Greene doesn't take a penny of special interest money, so career politicians are attacking him with ridiculous stories about something that didn't even happen five years ago on a boat he wasn't even on,'' said campaign spokesman Luis Vizcaino.
`THAT'S OUR QUOTE'
Asked how he could say it never happened when Greene's own employees at the time acknowledged a problem on the reef with Summerwind, Vizcaino declined to comment further: ``That's our position. That's our quote.''
Greene bought Summerwind in 2003, registering it in the Marshall Islands, a well-known tax haven.
He wouldn't be trying to dodge taxes...a leftist billionaire Democratic politician...naa, of course not.
...In Belize, the chief environmental officer of the Department of Environment, Martin Alegria, thumbed through a two-volume file on the Summerwind case in response to questions from The St. Petersburg Times.
The case remains officially open, Alegria said in a phone interview, and if Greene or the Summerwind's then-captain returns to Belize they face fines of up to $1.87 million, given the amount of reef damage caused.
Belize became much tougher on those who harm or pollute the 175-mile reef after the Summerwind incident occurred, Alegria said, but at the time local authorities failed to seize passports or press charges before Summerwind left.
LARGE GASH
Billy Leslie, president of the San Pedro Tourist Guide Council in Belize, said he saw the damage soon after the incident and closely followed the investigation. Summerwind's anchor caused a swath of destruction on the living reef 50 feet by 200 feet, he said.
``It was a very big deal at the time, but the police made mistakes in that they didn't apprehend anyone soon enough,'' he said. Summerwind representatives ``were very clear they were willing to pay to get this resolved, but by the time the order finally came to apprehend someone, they had taken off and never paid a penny.'' ...The boat left Belize as it was scheduled to, he said, ``and my office received no notification from the Belize authorities of any claim against the vessel or its environmental insurance policy.''
`A LOST CAUSE'
Alegria, Belize's chief environmental enforcement officer, said he may take a closer look at the case now that it has been brought to his attention, but in 2005 the matter effectively ended when Greene's yacht left.
``It's still an open case, but it was a lost cause after they left Belize,'' said Alegria, noting that Belize authorities have been much more successful punishing people responsible for major reef destruction in recent years.
Mr Alegria, I wouldn't hold my breath for him paying for his damage or for the NY Times to refer to this in any coverage, much less investigate this.
Now an example of how a journalist should work
Rep. Charlie Rangel Berates Luke Russert and MSNBC for Questions About Alleged Ethics Violations
CONGRESSMAN RANGEL: What are you talking about? You're just trying to make copy? What job? The one I got?
RUSSERT: Yeah. I mean, these are really serious violations.
CONGRESSMAN RANGEL: I mean, how do you think I got my job? I was elected. How do you think I lose it?
RUSSERT: Well, there's two ways. You could lose it if your colleagues voted you out of here because of ethics violations or if your constituents do not find you upstanding.
CONGRESSMAN RANGEL: What station are you with? Well, you're young; I guess you do need to make a name for yourself.
RUSSERT: (chuckles)
CONGRESSMAN RANGEL: But basically you know it's a dumb question, and I'm not answering.
RUSSERT: How is it a dumb question?
CONGRESSMAN RANGEL: The allegations that were made by some people!
RUSSERT: Sir? Sir? You did not file taxes on properties in the Dominican Republic, allegedly.
CONGRESSMAN RANGEL: It doesn't... It doesn't sound like... It doesn't...
RUSSERT: If that comes to be true, is that not a problem?
CONGRESSMAN RANGEL: It doesn't really sound like NBC --
RUSSERT: Sir?
CONGRESSMAN RANGEL -- asking these dumb questions. It just shows what has really happened to a channel that did have some respect.
I recall a great quote from news reporter E. K. Hornbeck in the classic Inherit the Wind, "Mr. Brady, it is the duty of a newspaper to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
I wonder if a modern journalist could reread this book and get a clue. Again, I won't hold my breath.
UPDATE:
I was closing out my computer and the Wikipedia page for John Kerry, the haughty French looking Massachusetts Democrat who by the way served in Vietnam was still open. I noticed a position he has held and I wondered is this a really screwed up joke:
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
In office January 4, 2007 – January 3, 2009
OK...this man hasn't had a real job his entire life but he is the chairman of a committee for small business...
Then again, we're talking DC and reality is not needed.
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