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John Kerry May Be Having Buyer’s Remorse re: $7 Million Yacht

Because people keep asking about it.


If pesky Boston reporters weren’t enough, the Wall St. Journal’s report is taking this to new hyperbolic levels with the headline: “John Kerry – A One-Man ‘Benedict Arnold’ Corporation”:

[T]here’s a smell of hypocrisy. In addition to sailing around the tax issue, Mr. Kerry chose to build his boat in New Zealand at a time when Bay State boat builders are having trouble keeping their work force employed. “I’m confident that anything constructed in New Zealand could be constructed here in the state,” Gregory Egan, who owns the Crosby Yacht Yard in Osterville, told the Boston Herald. Others noted that the Isabel was specially designed to be piloted without a crew — letting Mr. Kerry scrimp on employment costs and payroll taxes.

Jesus. A rich senator, married to a ketchup heiress, buys an expensive boat, does some not-so-fancy tax avoidance and all of a sudden he’s equated to, arguably, the most notorious traitor in the history of the United States? Yeah, that’s pretty much the same thing.

John Kerry – A One-Man ‘Benedict Arnold’ Corporation [WSJ]
Sen. Kerry Sails Around the Tax Issue [TaxProf Blog]

Earlier: John Kerry Saves $500k in Taxes By Dropping Anchor in Rhode Island

UPDATE: JK’s spokeswoman has said he will pay the tax if Mass. determines that he owes it.