Do a Google search on the Wallop-Breaux act, and read between the lines to see how it relates to kayak registration. Most of the fund is funded by taxation on motorboat fuel. The money is doled out to the states based on numbers of registered boats. http://www.wallop-breaux.org/ The Coast Guard has a lot of say in the spending of some of these monies, and the ACA and other organizations have received grants funded by Wallop-Breaux. The Biaggi Act returns a portion of the fuel taxes paid by boaters to boating safety, and ensures those benefiting from the program would also help pay the costs – “user pays, user benefits.” From this logic, it could be argued that paddlers should have to help pay for Wallop-Breaux, since some of the programs are "helping paddlers". We need to think on this act...is it helping us, if so, we'll be expected to pay...how? If it isn't helping us, how do we fight to insure that we're exempted from its rules and regulations. Since a lot of the funding is through boat fuel taxes, maybe we involve the motorboat lobby, and say, "Hey, this is your money; your fund. We don't buy boat gas, we don't pay into the fund. They're trying to register kayaks and canoes so they can spend your money on our safety". Would this argument work, or will they try to find a way to rewrite Wallop-Breaux to tax us some other way?! Shawn __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo http://search.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Friday, April 18, 2003, at 01:43 PM, Shawn Baker wrote: > > http://www.wallop-breaux.org/ > > Since a lot of the funding is through boat fuel taxes, maybe we involve > the motorboat lobby, and say, "Hey, this is your money; your fund. We > don't buy boat gas, we don't pay into the fund. They're trying to > register kayaks and canoes so they can spend your money on our safety". > Would this argument work, or will they try to find a way to rewrite > Wallop-Breaux to tax us some other way?! Philosophically I am not against paying for services rendered, however being a cheap bastard I don't like the idea of the cost of my kayaking gear increasing. I think the likely out come of talking about the Wallop-Breaux act would be a tax being added to all paddling gear. Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks 824 Thompson St Glastonbury, CT 06033 USA Ph/Fx: (860) 659-8847 http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
So the "best" realistic recourse is to simply wait in the wings for more kayak registration and then fight it tooth and nail every time it comes down the pike?! Maybe a good argument to make if kayak registration is becoming imminent in one's state is that the paddling community should receive all the benefit of the increased Federal funds coming in. shawn > Philosophically I am not against paying for services rendered, > however > being a cheap bastard I don't like the idea of the cost of my > kayaking > gear increasing. I think the likely out come of talking about the > Wallop-Breaux act would be a tax being added to all paddling gear. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo http://search.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
So the "best" realistic recourse is to simply wait in the wings for more kayak registration and then fight it tooth and nail every time it comes down the pike?! Maybe a good argument to make if kayak registration is becoming imminent in one's state is that the paddling community should receive all the benefit of the increased Federal funds coming in. shawn > Philosophically I am not against paying for services rendered, > however > being a cheap bastard I don't like the idea of the cost of my > kayaking > gear increasing. I think the likely out come of talking about the > Wallop-Breaux act would be a tax being added to all paddling gear. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo http://search.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
To me, this is often the crux of the problem. Governments are always finding new ways to extract money from us, particularly in times like this when tax revenues are falling drastically. While often couched in "safety" terms, most of this stuff is simply about money. Case in point: Virginia set up increased boat registration and fuel taxes under the guise of promoting boating and boating safety and providing much more access to Virginia waters. Along comes tax crunch time and guess what happens. The state rescinds the monies coming in for the boating fund and dumps it into the general fund to pay for the many shortfalls. In addition, the state is shutting down somewhere between 30 and 50 percent of the access points they so graciously provided but never really kept up after the initial funding. I betcha it will be a cold day in hades that that rescinded money ever makes it back into the boating fund. More likely, when times are better, they will decide that, oops, the boating fund is short of money, guess we better increase registration fees and fuel taxes to get it back up to speed. And the beat goes on..........ever under the guise of safety and service to the "boating" public. Dave G. <who wants to keep the pols out of his kayaking pocket> Poquoson, Va. At 10:43 AM 4/18/2003 -0700, Shawn Baker wrote: <snip some> >Since a lot of the funding is through boat fuel taxes, maybe we involve >the motorboat lobby, and say, "Hey, this is your money; your fund. We >don't buy boat gas, we don't pay into the fund. They're trying to >register kayaks and canoes so they can spend your money on our safety". > Would this argument work, or will they try to find a way to rewrite >Wallop-Breaux to tax us some other way?! > >Shawn *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
There is something basically wrong with taxing anything that doesn't have an engine and is older than any existing government on the planet. But then I credit elected officials with common sense. I apologize as this is an obvious error. Kevin *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
G'Day, Over here in Australia, the government has just started shutting down its VHF repeater stations. Seems as though shortwave radio and digital selective calling, are becoming standard for larger boats, but VHF or mobile phones are the only practical survival communications for kayakers. (Or is there an alternative?) The point is that although I would object to paying a tax specifically for kayakers I would be happy to pay some kind of levy to maintain useful support services, either privately or publicly. All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hi Peter, > VHF repeater stations. Seems as though shortwave radio and digital selective > calling, are becoming standard for larger boats, but VHF or mobile phones > are the only practical survival communications for kayakers. (Or is there an > alternative?) I don´t think so. VHF is the best one, especially for kayakers. But, the DSC (digital selective call) is normally a VHF-based system, am I wrong? There´re few VHF-DSC System available, suitable for kayaks. But everytime, its expensive and not so easy to fit to a kayak, there sometimes difficult to handle (in kayaks) AND you can´take them with you if you´re separated from your kayak! Biggest problem is the waterproofness and the antenna(s). To make them waterproof is possible, but that makes them unhandy and who wants to trust the company statements "sure, it´s waterproof"? For DSC you either need a second antenna or a "splitted" (switchable) system. I´m not so familiar with all that technical stuff. Then, how to fix an antenna in a safe way to a kayak? Not so easy, and all the power you hav to carry with your, uuugghh.... No, for direct callings a handheld VHF is the best for us. To call for help, a 406 Mhz (P)EPIRB (or PLB) is an alternative, have a look at the McMurdo Fastfind, under http://www.pwss.com, great size specially for kayakers. I´m short with money, but since last week, I got one of the rare Fastfind-Dummies and I´m going to show it around in the kayak scene. All the best Jochen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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