Explaining Kerry’s Yacht-Tax Dodge
27th July 2010
And if you think mooring the yacht in Rhode Island rather than in Massachusetts is a tax dodge, the senator’s spouse’s decision to be a Pennsylvania resident rather than a Massachusetts one for tax purposes has its own advantages. The Massachusetts state income tax is 5.3%, while Pennsylvania’s is 3.07%, according to the Tax Foundation. The Massachusetts estate tax is up to 16%, while the Pennsylvania inheritance tax maxes out at 4.5%. The lost income to Massachusetts as a result of Teresa Heinz Kerry’s decision to be an official resident of Pennsylvania probably dwarfs the $500,000 or so at stake in the debate over where the yacht is moored.
Well, one of the way that rich people get, and stay, rich, is by not paying a lot of taxes.
As recently as March of this year, Senator Kerry issued a press release touting “new tools” for the IRS “to detect, deter and discourage offshore tax abuses that currently allow companies and individuals avoid paying taxes.” He said, “It repulsed me that while the average American plays by the rules and pays taxes, some of the biggest corporations avoid paying their fair share.” And he vowed to “close the loophole that allows for offshore tax havens to help taxpayers shirk paying their fair share.”
‘We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.’ — Leona Helmsley