Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Rich-hating Legislation of the Day: The Ending Taxpayer Subsidies for Yachts Act

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

Sorry for being a little to the game on this one but everyone seems to still be in their meat-induced comas and this type of proposed legislation has left us wondering: IS NOTHING SACRED? If the affluent in our society can’t write off the mortgage interest on their second home that also happens to be boat, haven’t the terrorists won?


The Ending Taxpayer Subsidies for Yachts Act was introduced by Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) with co-sponsors Reps Tim Walz (D-MN) and Gary Peters (D-MI):

“There’s absolutely no reason why taxpayers should subsidize luxury yachts,” said Quigley. “As we work to address our budget challenges, closing this frivolous tax loophole is a no-brainer.”

“We’re going to have to make some hard decisions to tackle our national debt, but this isn’t one of them,” said Walz. “Closing this tax loophole restores the Mortgage Interest Deduction to its original purpose; helping middle class families realize the American Dream through homeownership.”

Currently, taxpayers are allowed to deduct mortgage interest for up to two homes from their tax returns. Yachts equipped with bedding, toilet facilities, and a kitchen qualify even if they aren’t used as a primary residence. The Ending Taxpayer Subsidies for Yachts Act would limit the tax deduction to only those who use their boats as a primary residence.

“We need to get the deficit under control, and that means simplifying the tax code and eliminating special interest tax giveaways like the Yacht Loophole,” added Peters. “Homeownership is part of the American Dream and we should encourage it, but yacht owners don’t need any special handouts, especially in the middle of a budget crisis.”

Also, it’s our understanding that the Reps will use the following footage to make a case for their bill:

[via DMWT]

Related Posts

After Coasting Through Tax Season, Some IRS Revenue Officers May Have to Start Doing Actual Work

While we’re typically not ones to speculate on the difficulty of any particular job (e.g. CEO of a Big 4 firm) the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (“TIGTA”) probably has the easiest job on Earth.

As far as we can tell, the TIGTA is responsible for criticizing the IRS on, well, pretty much everything that the Service does wrong and then the IRS agrees that they suck and promises to do better.


And if you’re going by the TIGTA website we’re more or less correct:

“TIGTA promotes the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the administration of the internal revenue laws. It is also committed to the prevention and detection of fraud, waste, and abuse within the IRS and related entities.”

We’re assuming that Doug Shulman probably agree with our assessment but that guy doesn’t even like pizza, so who cares what he thinks?

Anyhoo, the latest Monday Morning QBing from the TIGTA is that some of the Service’s senior revenue officers are basically sitting around with nothing to do. Web CPA reports:

Senior revenue officers at the Internal Revenue Service who are supposed to handle more complicated tax cases oftentimes don’t receive any work assignments, according to a new government report…

The relative lack of work for the senior revenue officers to do occurred because there is no systemic means for IRS managers to identify the most complex cases, and the criteria for identifying complex cases are subjective and inconsistently interpreted.

So you’re a senior revenue officer with 5-6 years (?) on the job. You’ve got this gig pretty much figured out. Not only do you know the ropes, you make the fucking ropes. Your manager has suits from DC so far up their ass about collecting every dime available that they can’t see straight, so they just want you busy do anything.

You, being a reasonably lazy (and realistic) person, aren’t going to kill yourself. If you’ve got the choice of picking up a 1040 that’s hundreds of pages long versus a 1040EZ that has fewer pages that a Tony Alamo pamphlet, you’re going to pick up the 1040EZ.

Well now J. Russell George is slapping those managers around with a report deeming this unacceptable which may mean that your slacking days are over:

“I am troubled that IRS managers are not providing employees with work assignments that they are ready and able to do at a time when it is incumbent on the IRS to be as efficient and effective as possible,” said TIGTA Inspector General J. Russell George in a statement.

JRG is recommending that the IRS improve it’s methods of identifying more complex cases (that the IRS naturally agreed with). We think a tax return thickness analysis is a decent place to start.

IRS Revenue Officers Don’t Have Enough to Do [Web CPA]

Of Course There’s a Nicolas Cage Tax Story on April 15th

It wouldn’t be tax day (in form, if not necessarily in substance) if the Raisin Bran™ of celebrity tax delinquents, Robert Snell, didn’t have a scoop today.

To make it even better, today’s edition is none other than perpetually tax-plagued Nicolas Cage.

In a storage locker last month, cops found Nicolas Cage’s rare $1.5 million, Superman comic book, which was stolen from the actor a decade ago. About the same time, the Oscar winner found kryptonite in his mailbox.

The IRS just sent the financially strapped screen star a $624,934 bill for delinquent federal taxes, according to public records.

If this level of irony doesn’t cause you to believe in some kind of benevolent god, then I feel sorry for you.

IRS hands Nicolas Cage pocket full of kryptonite [Tax Watchdog]

California Attorney General Not Amused By ‘Tax Lady’ Roni Deutch Destroying Records, Using Client Refunds to Pay Debts to a NASCAR Team (Allegedly)

If you’re an insomniac and adverse to softcore porn, you’ve probably seen Roni Deutch at some point, talking tax relief for those oppressed by the IRS to the point of it being a hate crime.

Last August, former California Attorney General and current Governor Jerry Brown sued Ron for a “heartless scheme,” of ripping off those people that needed her help settling disputes with the IRS. RD disputed the charges, continues to tout her expertise and is still issuing lame press releases that gives her some appearance of still being in the game.

As annoying as that probably is, the AG really got bent out of shape when it discovered that Deutch was destroying records and using client refunds to pay off some debts.

Harris’ office said Deutch has systematically destroyed documents for months and may have shredded up to 2.7 million pages of records.

The Attorney General said Deutch had been spending $3 million a year on advertising, mainly late at night on cable TV and that only one in 10 clients received any benefit from working with her firm.

The state also said Deutch was supposed to pay $435,000 in refunds by January, but instead released the money to other creditors, including family and friends, a NASCAR racing team and a casino.

Since these types of actions are typically frowned upon, current California AG Kamala Harris has asked a judge to find the Tax Lady to be in contempt of court and be given a free five-day stay at a local prison for each violation. Not sure how that math will work out but that could amount to a lot of NASCAR being watched on prison TV.

“Tax Lady” Roni Deutch has problems of her own [Reuters]