Taxation Committee

Chairperson: Ed Harley, Foster Pepper PLLC
Contact info: 206-447-4688 taxation@pacificnwyachting.com

Mission

The PNYA Taxation Committee represents the Pacific Northwest superyacht industry in local tax policy debates by reviewing relevant state tax law and regulations, initiatives and activities to allow PNYA members to track developments and participate individually and collectively in policy debates in the area of taxation of superyacht goods and services.

In certain jurisdictions the current tax law and regulations are such that they put the local superyacht industry at a disadvantage when compared to other more tax favorable jurisdictions. This creates a less than even playing field. The PNYA Taxation Committee is working to educate how government bodies looking for opportunities to increase revenue can do so by altering the tax code via tax incentives on the superyacht industry. This is particularly true given the significant amount of maritime related business generated by the local superyacht industry.

In addition the PNYA Taxation Committee serves as a gathering point for PNYA members on these issues as well as a clearinghouse of information for relevant topics related to how the taxation of superyacht goods and services affects our industry.

Achieving the Mission

The PNYA Taxation Committee has identified the following Washington state tax issues as issues of interest for 2010:

Sales and use tax of superyacht transactions
Taxation of refit work on superyachts
Discriminatory tax treatment of superyacht transactions, goods and services

Who participates?

The typical PNYA Taxation Committee participants are members of PNYA, industry professionals who deal with taxation issues, and government relations professionals who cover tax or finance issues.