Yay, paddleboards are vessels.

[juandoe]

You may need a pfd but at least you get a tax break in Rhode Island.

http://www.bna.com/sales-tax-slice-b17179896849/

[PDLSFR]

Check the Zone's own KayaDogg in the local newspaper on this topic:

http://www.ricentral.com/content/tax-free-sailing-paddleboarders

[madmax]

I'm glad you're happy.  I think making me having to carry a pfd and a whistle aboard a board I'm tethered to (like the biggest pfd made) is a crock.  Next we'll have to register them and put numbers on the sides... and PAY every year to use them.

[PDLSFR]

Funny thing is I have never been stopped or questioned about a PFD while flatwater paddling in RI, even at a race.

[Socalsupper70]

Jack Hanna and HPWA are working on this very issue-it gets a little long and complicated but HPWA is pushing and fighting and advocating on this issue.

Im more interested in the sup surf ban as most know but this issue is currently top priority for HPWA-its a long process-dealing with multiple agencies many of which you could seriously question their lucidity or if they received even a remedial education.

There has been some movement-hopefully Jack can hop on soon and do a better job of translating the BS than i can.

[madmax]

It's only a matter of time before these Surf SUP bans travel elsewhere (like here in FL, already here in another form on some creeks and springs).  Thanks to the Cali crowd in fighting this now.  Time, money, frustration.

[pdxmike]

I think it's great because it highlights the "vessel" idiocy and makes it relevant to every taxpayer instead of just the tiny minority who paddle.  From now on, every single local, state and federal rule aimed at boats should be scrutinized by paddlers, because it will likely apply to SUPs as well, and be as ridiculous or worse than this one.  Then the news articles should interview some standup paddlers saying, "Don't blame us--we've been arguing for years that the 'vessel' classification is stupid". 


I know the first article was written in a light-hearted way, but even so it was silly that it was using examples of people who commute by SUP to make the case that they are really used for transportation.  Of course they had to search for examples across the entire country, and found three (and Cyril, their example from Portland, moved and doesn't do it anymore).  So, okay, two.  There's a reason you can find national news articles about people using SUPs for transportation--it's so unusual that it's newsworthy at a national level.   


It also shows how insane government is.  A stupid decision (the "vessel" classification) gets made, then everyone runs with it, with nobody ever stopping to think if it makes sense, which to government is irrelevant.

[OUTSIDEWAVE]

The thing is this  it is just another example of way too much government in our  lives. what happened to  be a free and easy  surfer  camping  looking for waves exploring  new spots and territory. now we think about wether we are told to wear life jackets and carry whistles  or as in the case of Orange county out west where we can and cannot surf.  Too much government  too many whiners, too many babies crying they can get enough waves. 

Government if you are listening. spend more time solving crime and less time  creating  new laws to make more crime   oh and spend less money while you at it

[kayadogg]

Check the Zone's own KayaDogg in the local newspaper on this topic:

http://www.ricentral.com/content/tax-free-sailing-paddleboarders

For what it's worth, Rhode Island isn't saying that stand up paddle boards are now vessels, it's saying that the Rhode Island Division of Taxation has a new interpretation of the law regarding taxes on boats/vessels because the Coast Guard considers a stand up paddle board to be a "vessel", as if they are just realizing the classification now.

The context of the article (full version was in the paper, not online) that I was interviewed for is skewed, I was referring only to the tax break on the sale of boards, not on the classification of boards as vessels.  I think the classification blows.  Ironically, I've been stopped by a local police boat on the water about 50 yards from shore, in the upper bay in Rhode Island, because I didn't have a PFD yet one time I was about a quarter mile off shore and a large Coast Guard Cutter came up from behind me and asked me to move further away from them, using their bullhorn,  but they never said anything about a PFD.

[pdxmike]

One more reason for prone surfers to hate SUPs. 


Plus now there'll be people who defect from prone surfing to SUP purely for tax reasons.  "Hey, don't give me that stinkeye!  I still hate SUPs myself, as much as I ever did.  I'm just on this for tax reasons." 

[pdxmike]

The weird thing is that legally it's not a vessel if it's not combined with a paddle. They'll figure that out in another year or so.  Then you'll have to pay tax when you buy the board, unless you also buy a paddle at the same time.  Then in another year they'll have Form 941Q for people who already have paddles, so they can get the sales tax waived when they get a new board without a new paddle. 


For that matter, technically it's also legally not a vessel even if it has a paddle with it, unless its in the water outside the surf zone.  So then you'll have to pay the sales tax upfront, then get a refund after you're out from shore. 


At some point the whole pfd thing will be solved by tax attorneys in the tax courts. 

[spookini]

Nothing's easy.  I live in Massachusetts, but have to store my SUPs in Rhode Island to minimize the tax burden. 

I'm worried this will come back to haunt me when I make my inevitable run for public orifice.  (Nothing says hypocrite like a Dem who surfs in Mass but stores his SUPs in Little Rhod-ie.)   

"...I'm Rick Weeks, founder of SUS'ers for American Progress, and I approve this message"