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Editor's Comments 
This is a new format for our quarterly
newsletter. Please let us know of problems in
viewing or negotiating the topics.
Mike Bradley
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Visit our 2008 IBEX Booth
# 1020
Our
NC SBTDC Boating Industry Services will have our
annual support booth at IBEX (International
Boatbuilding Exposition again this year. NC will
have about 35 exhibiting companies and we will be
there to help you network and know our NC products
and services. The dates are October 6-8 and the
location is the Miami Beach Convention Center.
See: http://www.ibexshow.com/
Our NC
companies this year are: Accu-Form Polymers, Inc,
Ameritex Technologies, Aplix Inc., C. E. Smith
Company, Inc., Camco Manufacturing Inc , CVG
- Commercial Vehicle Group, Dixie Plywood &
Lumber Co., DNA Group Inc (Digital Switching
Systems, LLC), Florida Marine Tanks Inc.,
Forest City Tool Inc., Glen Raven Mills
(Sunbrella®), Hickory Springs Manufacturing, HK
Research Corporation, IPS Corporation (Weld-On),
King Marine, Lawrence Industries (Novaflex) ,
Morbern, Inc, Morse Industries, NCwaterways,
Odyssey Group, Outdura (Shuford Mills,
Inc.), Pacer Marine, Piedmont Plastics Inc.,
Reichhold Inc., Saertex USA LLC, Sea Tech Inc.,
Southtech Plastics, Inc., Tampco
Incorporated, Technicon Industries, tesa tape Inc,
The Gartner Group, and Victory Bolt &
Specialty
Inc. |
 2009 Coastal
Boating
Guides
The NC Wildlife Resources Commission
and our SBTDC Boating Industry Services (BIS) are
teaming up to product the 2009 NC Coastal Boating
Guide map and marina/boatyard resource guide.
Wildlife funds this transient boater's map and we
identify the coastal marinas and boatyards that
provide transient boating services such as
overnight slips, fuel, and haul-out boating repair
services.
If you have a marina or
boatyard that qualifies and have not received an
e-mail or a phone call from us, please call or
email Nancy Blanchard at 252-728-2804 or
nblanchard@sbtdc.org. Please verify your
information on the www.NCwaterways.com marina tab and be prepared
to provide your latitude and longitude for this
new map. |
Boat & Trailer Hauling
Update
The final status at the time
of this article is that North Carolina legislature
has a ratified bill (H2167) titled "AN ACT to
INCREASE the width of boats that may be
transported on highway routes during the day and
night without a permit and to provide for an
annual permit as opposed to a single trip permit
for oversize boats". This has been sent to the
Governor for signature - but a veto has been
threatened according to media
reports.
The basics: "a boat or boat
trailer with an outside width of less than 120
inches may be towed without a permit. The towing
of a boat or boat trailer 102 inches to 114 inches
in width may take place on any day of the week,
including weekends and holidays, and may take
place at night. The towing of a boat or boat
trailer 114 inches to 120 inches in width may take
place on any day of the week, including weekends
and holidays from sun up to sun down. A boat or
boat trailer in excess of 102 inches but less than
120 inches must be equipped with a minimum of two
operable amber lamps on the widest point of the
boat and the boat trailer such that the dimensions
of the boat and the boat trailer are clearly
marked and visible." Also, 20 to 119.
"Special permits for vehicles of excessive size or
weight;" and "A boat or boat trailer whose outside
width equals or exceeds 120 inches. A permit
issued under this subdivision must restrict a
vehicle's towing of the boat or boat trailer to
daylight hours only."
Trailer
Trivia
It's an NC law. Everyone is required to
have their boat trailer inspected and carry an NC
inspection sticker if the trailer and its load are
between 4,000-10,000 lbs. If it and load are over
10,000 pounds, you have to get a Federal
Inspection. There is a $145 ($50 fine plus costs)
ticket if you don't have the NC inspection sticker
on
it. |
NC Coastal Stormwater
Ruling
This contentious issue as
been finalized and will be signed into law by the
Governor as the "Improve Coastal Stormwater
Management" bill to go into effect on October 1,
2008. It has been an issue, and may remain an
issue, for the NC boating industry in that it may
now be more difficult and more costly for
expansion of existing working waterfront
businesses and may change the economics associated
with developing new working waterfront marine
parks and the related recruitment of new companies
into these parks. We (BIS) plan to work with
regulatory agencies, marine park developers,
property owners, and counties/municipalities to
maximize understanding on potential constraints
and develop appropriate solutions to minimize
related costs. To see a summary of this revised
bill provided by the NC Division of Water
Resources, click here and to see one of the
coastal county's summary of this decision, click
here. |
Clean Boating Act of 2008 -
update
7/22/08 - John McKnight -
NMMA: "the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives has now passed S. 2766, the Clean
Boating Act of 2008, ... The bill now
moves to the President for his signature into
law."
The Clean
Boating Act will permanently restore a 35-year-
old regulation that distinguishes between
recreational boats and commercial boats in regard
to permits for water discharge. A recent
court ruling would have required all recreational
boats to get new permits by September 2008 for
engine cooling water, bilge water, and even deck
runoff.
This was
probably the most active concern in the
boating industry today - short of the boating
economy itself. Here are outtakes of an article
written by Phil Keeter of the Marine Retailers
Association of America (MRAA) in a July 21 letter:
"As a reminder, a Federal District
Court judge ruled that recreational boats would
have to secure burdensome and expensive federal or
state permits to discharge engine-cooling water,
gray water, uncontaminated bilge water, and
weather-caused deck run off.
MRAA
stressed that the proposed rule would have a vast,
unprecedented impact on recreational boating and
would place an undue hardship on Americans over
everyday water discharges. It would place
them in a direct regulatory regime designed for
land-based industrial facilities, like sewage
disposal plants and commercial shipping
vessels.
There are 17 million
Americans who own recreational boats. If
they did not comply with the law they could be
fined $32,000 per day per violation. There
are 19,000 small businesses in the USA devoted to
recreational boating, employing over 154,000
people. This does not include ancillary
businesses, such as bait shops, restaurants, gift
shops.
"MRAA sees great fault with
the proposed rule and the potential of it causing
great harm to the nation. We have asked the
EPA to reconsider its proposed rule and to return
recreational boating to the current application of
the Clean Water Act," said Robert Soucy, MRAA
Chairman."
This bill can be followed
through other national associations such as
BoatU.S., NMMA, BoatBlue, or by the bills themselves (S.
2766 and H.R. 5949) on sites like GovTrack.us. |
Homeland Security and Foreign
Flagged Vessels
The link below is the summary
document on the efforts by the Department of
Homeland Security related the operations of small
vessels along our coasts. One recommendation to
the DHS was that they "should not impose overly
restrictive regulatory constraints on small vessel
operators or their boats in the areas of
licensing, registration, or tracking" (See
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/small-vessel-security-strategy.pdf)
We (BIS) have received
several calls from marinas and boaters as to the
requirements for foreigh flagged vessels. The
rule is - if the vessel is a foreign flagged
vessel, including from Canada, YOU MUST
NOTIFY WHEN MOVING FROM DISTRICT TO
DISTRICT. If you are unsure of your current
District location and/or the one you are moving to
- CALL 800/973-2867, dial 0 (zero) and speak with
a live person!! Failure to do so, could
result in a fine up to $5000!!
If the
vessel is over 100 net tons - they must ALSO put
in an NOA (Notice of Arrival) through the Capt of
the Port where they are going, but the 800 number
is for anywhere. No notification is required if
within the same USCG District - but not everyone
would know what the boundaries are for the various
Districts. Note that this requirement does NOT
apply to US flagged
vessels!
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Working Waterfront and Water
Access Update
As
Kermit can tell you, it's not easy being green.
And, as we can tell you, it's not easy developing
environmentally responsible and "company-ready"
at-the-water acreage for water-dependant
businesses - especially if those businesses are
ones we want here, but are not willing to purchase
property dozens of month ahead of knowing or
having any idea of whether they will gain the
permits they will need to operate their business.
We need to create at-water sites
similar in function to NC Certified Sites where
companies know they can build buildings with "x"
thousands of square feet; have "y" number of slips
based on draft, length, and beam; know how much
additional non-permeable land is available for
parking, boat manipulation, etc.; know they can
get their boats into and out of the water safely;
and build a seawall if needed..
This
is not a cakewalk, as most projects will trigger
at least an Environmental Assessment (EA) and the
EA Process and EA Guidance are Division of Water
Quality (DWQ) driven and very project (company)
specific as to information required before anyone
can even give a hint as to potential for the site
being acceptable for the project.
Hence the Catch-22: North Carolina
is fortunate to have a number of potential working
waterfront sites identified up and down our
coastline. We also have a dozen companies talking
to us about establishing a water-dependant
business here. So we have both the "I want" and
the "here is" of a deal but companies won't spend
the money to option the properties for the 12 - 18
months or more period to find out if they can do
what they want let alone spend the tens of
thousands of dollars to engineer the property to
"describe all aspects of the project, including
planning, phasing, construction and operations,
and project location" answers needed just to fill
out the EA.
If we can figure out a
way to develop EA-type criteria for a specific
piece of property - without having to know the
specifics for a unique company or project - we can
then market these parameters or guidelines and a
prospect company can make intelligent business
decision that could lead to jobs and investment in
the NC boating industry. Your ideas and
recommendations on this topic would be
appreciated - Mike Bradley.
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Nexus Tax (BASTA)
Update
From NMMA article and News
Center: WASHINGTON,
DC, June 30, 2008 - On Tuesday, June 24, the U.S.
House of Representatives' House Judiciary
Committee's Subcommittee on Commercial and
Administrative Law held a hearing on H.R. 5267,
the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of
2008 (BASTA).
"The inconsistency of
state laws regarding tax nexus puts marine
companies "at a distinct disadvantage, not only
with domestic manufacturers, but foreign
manufactures as well," according to Mark Ducharme,
chief financial officer and vice president of
Monterey Boats. [he] spoke about how his company
has been hurt by the tax in Michigan and New
Jersey. His company is based in Florida, and does
not have an established "bricks and mortar"
presence in either Michigan or New Jersey. "Our
experience with the state of New Jersey is nothing
short of extortion," Ducharme told the
subcommittee."
The NMMA says BATSA
would ensure a level and fair playing field,
allowing small businesses to plan for a standard
taxing certainty and pay business activity taxes
to states that provide them with direct benefits
and protections.
More than 30
companies [several NC companies - editor
note] and associations, representing a wide range
of differing business interests, submitted
testimony for the record. "In understanding and
discussing our position on state taxing authority,
our obligation to pay appropriately mandated taxes
[is] not in question; however, our ability to
compete in our industry requires us to pass along
these costs in the pricing of our product,"
Ducharme testified. "When the taxing arm of each
state does not consistently apply the law or
provide clear guidance on activities requiring
registration as an out of state corporation - we
are at a distinct disadvantage-not only with
domestic manufacturers, but foreign manufacturers
as well." |
Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) - Marina
Activity
[Editor's note: Wendy
Larimer, formerly with our program, is now
Legislative Coordinator for the Association of Marina
Industries (AMI)
and provided this background. The issue is the
status of ADA requirements for marinas and what
changes or clarifications are being requested to
make the requirements manageable and
cost-realistic at marinas]
As the
representative organization for marinas in the
U.S., we (AMI) want to pass along our
concerns over your new ADA Accessibility
Guidelines (ADAAG) rules. Sections 235.2 and
1003.3.1 of the rules
state:
"Accessible slips will have to
be dispersed throughout the boat slip area." The
ADAAG guidelines say this but also added:
"Accessible slips may be grouped on one pier if
the requirement for different types of slips is
met. Types could include shallow-water or deep
water; transient or longer-term lease; covered or
uncovered; and whether slips are equipped with
features such as telephone, water, electricity, or
cable connections."
"These additional
sentences and clarification are crucial to our
industry. Dispersion cannot be left up to
interpretation but must be spelled out as ADAAG
has done. A marina that could not put accessible
slips all on one pier, would be left with
essentially having to reconstruct the entire
facility to accommodate accessible piers,
gangways, docks and walkways. Not only is this a
major construction undertaking, but would come
with significant cost".
Go to:
www.access-board.gov/recreation/guides/boating.htm to view ADAAG for marinas and then
to www.ada.gov/NPRM2008/ADAnprm08.htm to see the
proposed rules - (once on that site, go to
Appendix A where it says "235 and 1003
Recreational Boating Facilities" and note that
these sections require accessible boat slips to be
provided).
Accessible Route - Newly added sections 206.2.10 and
1003.2 require an accessible route to all
accessible boating facilities, including boat
slips and boarding piers at boat launch
ramps.
Commanders raised concerns that
because of water level fluctuations it may be
difficult to provide accessible routes to all
accessible boating facilities, including boat
slips and boarding piers at boat launch
ramps. The guidelines take this into
account. A number of exceptions are provided
from the general proposed standards requiring
accessible routes in order to take into account
the difficulty of meeting accessibility
requirements due to fluctuations in water
level.
Accessible Boarding
Piers - If provided at
boat launch ramps, new sections 235.3 and 1003.3.2
provide that five percent (5%) of boarding piers,
but at least one, will have to be
accessible.
Accessible Boat Slips - New sections 235.2 and 1003.3.1
provide that a specified number of boat slips in
each recreational boating facility will be
required to meet specified accessibility
standards. The greater the number of slips
provided, then the larger number of slips must be
accessible, e.g., if 100 boat slips are provide, 3
must be accessible, or if 500 boat slips are
provided, 7 must be accessible.
Wendy Larimer
Legislative Coordinator
Association of
Marina
Industries
202/350-9623 |
2008 Economic Stimulus Act Tax
Changes
Reported By
Jack Morrow: In addition to providing
stimulus payments to individuals, the Economic
Stimulus Act of 2008 provides incentives to
businesses. These incentives include a special
50-percent depreciation allowance for 2008
purchases and an increase in the small business
expensing limitation for tax years beginning in
2008.
50-Percent Special Depreciation
Allowance
Depreciation is an income tax
deduction that allows a taxpayer to recover the
cost or other basis of certain property over
several years. It is an annual allowance for the
wear and tear, deterioration or obsolescence of
the property.
Under the new law, a
taxpayer is entitled to depreciate 50 percent of
the adjusted basis of certain qualified property
during the year that the property is placed in
service. This is similar to the special
depreciation allowance was previously available
for certain property placed in service generally
before Jan. 1, 2005, often referred to as "bonus
depreciation." To qualify for the 50 percent
special depreciation allowance under the new law,
the property must be placed in service after Dec.
31, 2007, but generally before Jan. 1,
2009.
To reflect the new
50-percent special depreciation allowance, the
IRS developed a new version of the
depreciation and amortization form for fiscal year
filers. The new form is designated as
the 2007 Form 4562-FY and is available at IRS.gov. Section 179
Expensing
In general, a qualifying taxpayer
can elect to treat the cost of certain property as
an expense and deduct it in the year the property
is placed in service instead of depreciating it
over several years. This property is frequently
referred to as section 179 property, after the
relevant section in the Internal Revenue
Code.
Under the new law, a qualifying
business can expense up to $250,000 of section 179
property purchased by the taxpayer in a tax year
beginning in 2008. Absent this legislation,
the 2008 expensing limit for section 179 property
would have been $128,000. The $250,000 amount
provided under the new law is reduced if the cost
of all section 179 property placed in service by
the taxpayer during the tax year exceeds
$800,000.
The new law does not alter
the section 179 limitation imposed on sport
utility vehicles, which have an expense limit of
$25,000.
New Depreciation Limits on Business
Vehicles
The total depreciation deduction,
including the section 179 deduction, a business
can take for a passenger automobile, which is not
a truck or van, used in the business and first
placed in service in 2008 is $2,960 -- $10,960 for
automobiles for which the special depreciation
allowance applies. The maximum deduction that can
be taken for a truck or van used in a business and
first placed in service 2008 is $3,160 -- $11,160
for trucks or vans for which the special
depreciation allowance
applies.
Mileage Deduction standard Rate
Increase
The Internal Revenue Service
announced June 23, 2008, an increase in the
optional standard mileage rates for the final six
months of 2008. Taxpayers may use the optional
standard rates to calculate the deductible costs
of operating an automobile for business,
charitable, medical or moving
purposes.
The rate will increase to
58.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven
from July 1, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2008. This is
an increase of eight (8) cents from the 50.5 cent
rate in effect for the first six months of 2008,
as set forth in Rev. Proc. 2007-70.
In recognition of
recent gasoline price increases, the IRS made this
special adjustment for the final months of 2008.
The IRS normally updates the mileage rates once a
year in the fall for the next calendar
year.
SBA
2008 Economic Stimulus Explanation and Resource
Center
The
U.S. Small Business
Administration has
a new resource center, which connects America's
entrepreneurs with tax management tools and
strategies to maximize savings from the 2008
Economic Stimulus Package.
The web page
contains three resources: 1) A Fact Sheet
that highlights the tax benefits from the 2008
Economic Stimulus Package for businesses. 2) A
depreciation calculator that provides an estimate
of the first year depreciation available under the
provisions of the Stimulus Package and 3) An on
line seminar that summarizes the tax benefits from
the 2008 Economic Stimulus Package. The
seminar concludes with the depreciation
calculator.
These resources should help
small businesses take advantage of the Stimulus
Package. However, because there are
exceptions and additional requirements, we
encourage you to contact your tax advisor to
determine exactly how the provisions and
implementing tax code of the Economic Stimulus
Package of 2008 apply to your
business.
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CFCC Adding Fiberglass Boatbuilding
for Fall
Cape Fear Community College
has announced that it will add fiberglass
boat-building program to its existing Boat
Building Program. Students will learn a variety of
mechanical and electrical skills, as well as how
to build fiberglass boats.
Students
can complete the program in a year, spending half
of their time on boat building and the other half
on mechanical and electrical systems. After
completing the program, students will be awarded a
diploma and can take more classes. For more
information, click on http://cfcc.edu/programs/boatbuilding/courses.htm.
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Marina Refund of
Excise Tax on Gasoline
Sold
In an act (H2151) to allow a marina to obtain
a quarterly refund of the excise tax on gasoline
sold for use in a boat or other marine vessel, the
following provisions apply:
(a) Marina. A marina may
obtain a quarterly refund of the excise tax paid
by the marina on gasoline purchased for use in a
boat or another marine vessel during the preceding
quarter. The refund applies only to gasoline
delivered at the time of purchase into a storage
facility that is marked "For Boat Use Only" or
another phrase that clearly indicates the fuel is
not to be used to operate a highway vehicle.
(c) Refund
Amount. The amount of a refund allowed under this
section is the amount of excise tax paid during
the preceding quarter, at a rate equal to the flat
cents per gallon rate plus the variable cents per
gallon rate in effect during the quarter for which
the refund is claimed, less the amount of sales
and use tax or privilege tax due on the motor fuel
under this Chapter, as determined in accordance
with G.S. 105 449.107(c)."
See:
SECTION 1. Part 5 of Article 36C of Chapter
105 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a
new section to read: "§ 105 to 106A
"Quarterly refunds for marinas and special mobile
equipment". |
Disaster and Hurricane Preparation
Information
Our BIS NC Hurricane Preparation
Plan and one
from the BoatU.S. Hurricane Resource
Center both
have checklists and tools to help
you.
The IRS Publication 2194B,
Disaster Losses Kit for Business Publication
2194B is a
Disaster Losses Kit to help businesses claim
casualty losses on property that has been
destroyed by a natural disaster. The kit contains
tax forms needed to claim a casualty
loss.
Federal Emergency Management
Agency.
Federal disaster aid programs provided by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are
available to citizens affected by major
disasters.
Small Business
Administration. The U. S. Small Business Administration
(SBA) is responsible for providing affordable,
timely and accessible financial assistance to
homeowners, renters and businesses of all sizes
located in a declared disaster area. Financial
assistance is available in the form of
low-interest, long-term loans for losses that are
not fully covered by insurance or other
recoveries.
Finance Primer: Guide to
SBA's Loan Guaranty Programs at http://app1.sba.gov/sbtn/registration/index.cfm?CourseId=29
How to
Prepare a Loan Package at http://app1.sba.gov/sbtn/registration/index.cfm?CourseId=28.
For more information, see
SBA's Press
Release at:
http://www.sba.gov/idc/goups/public/documents/sba_homepage/news_release_08_65.pdf. |
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