SINKING SYSTEM: Mass. lets boats go untracked, undertaxed

With new, updated systems in place, there is the potential for additional revenues that could help cities and towns restore sorely needed services and programs.

The current boat tax system "penalizes the owner of a modest craft and gives a huge tax break to the owner of a yacht," boat owner and Concord Assessor R. Lane Partridge wrote in a June 15 letter to legislators..."It's horrendous," Marshfield Assessor Elizabeth Bates, an author of the proposed legislation, said of the current system. "Bigger boats are going to pay more and they should. It's a simple formula and it's fair and equitable."  [Full Article: The Lowell Sun]