WI non-resident boat registration fee proposed

I keep a pretty close eye on the WI state budget process, particularly as it pertains to natural resource issues.

In action yesterday, the WI joint committee on finance voted to do two things pertaining to boats used in WI waters:

1. Increase the cost of a 3-year resident boat registration by ~ 15%. Registration for a 14 foot boat would go from the current $19 to $22. An 18-footer would go from $28 to $32, and so forth as the boat gets longer.

Now, here’s the more controversial item:

2. The same committee voted to institute a new non-resident boat registration fee of $15 per year. A non-resident’s boat would be required to display a current non-resident registration sticker or be subject to fine. Here are some interesting excerpts from the proposed legislation:

a. Generally, all non-residents using a motorized boat in Wisconsin waters would be subject to the nonresident boat sticker requirement.

b. In boundary waters of Wisconsin, a boat that does not land, dock, or launch from, a pier, wharf, or other landing area on, or extending from the shores of Wisconsin would be exempt from the nonresident sticker requirement. (Read it this way…if you’re from MN or IA and launch from the WI side of the river, you’d need a non-resident sticker).

c. A boat present in the state for not more than 10 days to participate in an approved competition would be exempt. (This would seem to apply to tourmament guys on a regional or national tour).

d. A $15 annual non-resident boat sticker instituted January 1, 2010, could generate approximately $145,000 in 2009-10 and $580,000 in 2010-11.

Now, this is a long way from becoming law. The Joint committee on Finance writes a budget proposal (based in part on the Gov’s budget), and then submits the budget to the two legislative bodies. The two bodies can rewrite and vote on their own versions of the budget bill, which must eventually get reconciled into one that gets legislative approval and is sent to the Gov. The Gov typically uses his line item veto to rework the budget to some extent.

So, it will be July or August before we know whether or not this will actually happen. I’ll keep the IDO family posted as I learn more.

And, just so you know I’m not pulling your leg:

Here’s a link to the budget blog, written by a blogger sitting in the JFC meetings.

Here’s the JFC budget paper, spelling out the proposed rules, fees, and alternatives.

And please, keep the flamethrowers to a minimum.

This is meant to be an INFORMATIVE post, not a medium for bashing, name-calling, or whatever else that will get the thread locked up and thrown away.

Jason,
I don’t think we have a flame thrower Graemlin. just a flamin Devil.

Blame it on the pool 4 traffic out of Evert’s during the winter, up til mid March, when the MN side ramps start to open.
Wonder if it would keep the number of boaters off the water during Feb and March, not likely.

I am sure MN does not have a similiar deal for nonresidents,
but is easy to see that a lot of popular boating states will soon follow WI’s direction.
Just a sign of the times….
Jack

I spend some time traveling to Wisconsin so this will me personally as well as many others that travel for vacations. With more and more state budgets being short on cash, the states need to come up with unique ways to get some more money. I was wondering how long it would be before some states went to this system.
I will pay this fee and not complain, much.

Ron

This is just plain wrong. I am not proud of this one. I will email Sen. Schultz and tell him so.

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A non-resident’s boat would be required to display a current non-resident registration sticker

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Boys better leave a lot of room on the front of your boat for the extra stickers from every state you fish in. I am sure if this goes through every state will eventually adopt it. And of course it`s $15 first year then it will be $20 and on and on it will go.

Geez I want to fish pool 14 for a day, but I need a sticker for my boat because Iowa and Illinois have dopted the same program. I would not go personally.

I beleive these kind of revenue raising tactics are eventually going to kill the sportsman from going anywhere except there home state.

I will be the first to say there is plenty of good lakes in Minnesota to fish. I guess this is just another reason for me to think the Hayward area is too far and just too expensive by the time a guy gets on the lake to go. Just my thoughts, I’ll support the home team from now on for sure now…

I have allot of friends that work for the D.N.R and even they cant always agree on what goes on but I am surprised this just wouldn’t be included in the non res. license?

If I had the choice to fish in two different states and one like Wisconsin had a “EXTRA” fee just to put my boat in the water…well I guess my vacation dollars would go to the state that doesn’t charge the “EXTRA” fee. It’s a wonder they don’t tack on a registration for the vehicle towing the boat as well “on Wisconsin roads” then they would have it covered. As it is now my boat is registered in Iowa and that has been good anywhere I go. I think Wisconsin is getting greedy and will lose out in the long run if people take their vacations elsewhere. And what is the big difference if I am fishing for three days on my own and not in a tourney, why give the “pros” the break? You can buy a yearly Corp of Engineers launch pass and go to any Corps controlled water and launch from their ramps….one registration in your home state for your boat should be good anywhere in the “United States”…heck…I can take my boat to Canada and not have to register it there !

i too will reconsider fishing in wisconsin. as prices rise for gas, bait, launch fees, camping/hotels, and now boat license, my wisconsin fishing days many come to an end. it might sound good for wisconsin residents to keep the waters free of us minnesota residents, but since i may fish there maybe 3 times a year, I pay $50 for a fishing licensce. that money goes to stocking lakes and other natural resources. i dont ever keep fish so my inpact is minimal. the $50 towards stocking will be gone, money i spend on bait/beer/hotel/camping/tackle and the list goes on will also be gone. i know $15 is not much, but when you add everything in that goes into a fishing trip and how the costs have risen, every little bit counts. i would think the overall money gained from keeping people vacationing to the state would far exceed the money raised by a $15 boat fee. it might be something they want to reconsider. I know I would not like to see a fee charged to non-residents to fish in minnesota. the economic inpact of people vacationing to minnesota is a welcomed thing in my opinion. i will write my congressmen and women not to do this if it comes up in minnesota. cheeseheads are welcome here anytime!

I believe this might not be the best route to go but everybody wants nice landings and plenty of fish in the lakes when they vacation and we all know money doesnt grow on trees at least here in WI. $15 isnt all that bad i spend alot more than that paying to use private ramps throughout the year. I guess if $15 is going to be the deal breaker for a vacation you have bigger issues to deal with.

I don’t like the idea of another sticker on my boat. Tack it on the Lic. fee if they have to. Just another form of tax.

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I don’t like the idea of another sticker on my boat. Tack it on the Lic. fee if they have to. Just another form of tax.

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Taxes are inevitable. I can’t say I like the idea, but honestly. It’s $15 bucks. I spend a lot more (over $1000) than that on non-resident tags in multiple states every year. What’s a lousy $15 more dollars.

I to hate the extra sticker idea. Of course we do it on our snowmobiles. Extra fee and an extra sticker. Such is life.

I a states budget 500K will not pay for a thing. What a waste of time

While I don’t think it would kill any of us to pay an extra $15.00….as others have said, it won’t stay at that level. I won’t pay it out of principle. What benefit will Wisconsin provide me it I touch a Wisconsin dock with my Minnesota registered boat?

Wasn’t there some notion about Taxation without Representation being fundamentally wrong?

The bottom line here is that this law will affect Wisconsin business people the most. If people are discouraged from launching at Everet’s, why would anyone think that’s a good idea? It’s a stupid proposal that will hurt Wisconsin people the most. For Dean’s sake I hope this one goes away.

Rootski

WI is about to get windmilled (GL).

They want to raise more money, so they impose an additional fee. I would almost promise you that it will keep enough people away that they will lose money.

Boaters spend a lot of money. Think of this, MN boater drives to Hudson, puts $100 gas in his boat, $50 more in his truck, $20 for bait, $15 for snacks, $18 for some cool beverages, that sales and gas tax alone is over $15. If this keeps that boater in MN, they get zero.

Is it over the top to think cars traveling through the state would be the next target?

Absurd right? So is the ding dong that’s coming up with this proposed tax. (Ding dong wasn’t capitalized, so I’m not throwing flames.)

I’d be willing to pay it. Looking at what a fishing trip costs, even for a weekend, what’s another $15 or $20? Look out what it cost to go out of state to hunt. Besides, Evert’s is my favorite place to launch out of and I wouldn’t give that up for $15.

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Is it over the top to think cars traveling through the state would be the next target?

Absurd right? So is the ding dong that’s coming up with this proposed tax. (Ding dong wasn’t capitalized, so I’m not throwing flames.)

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Brian, I was thinking the exact same thing. I don’t recall the law, but I thought their was something at a Federal level that prevented this from happening. As this could lead to a requirement of presenting papers to pass a state line. Doyle and his grouppies need to go

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I’d be willing to pay it. Looking at what a fishing trip costs, even for a weekend, what’s another $15 or $20? Look out what it cost to go out of state to hunt. Besides, Evert’s is my favorite place to launch out of and I wouldn’t give that up for $15.

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Although hunting out of state is not cheap… would you pay $15 for a sticker on your Rifle or Bow to hunt that state ???? License fees aside, this is a bad deal for all involved, resorts, towns, bait shops, Gas stations, restaraunts, motels etc. etc. etc….. let alone the guy forking over the $15….

big G

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Although hunting out of state is not cheap… would you pay $15 for a sticker on your Rifle or Bow to hunt that state ???? License fees aside, this is a bad deal for all involved, resorts, towns, bait shops, Gas stations, restaraunts, motels etc. etc. etc….. let alone the guy forking over the $15….

big G

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I agree, but it doesn’t matter what we think. It’s up the WI guys to call there leaders and let them know how bad of an idea this is.

Let’s remember how fees and registrations hurt the Canadian Tourism. When the resort owners and guides didn’t stand up and fight, I know myself and many others decided to spend our money in the states.

Good point Randy…I make 4-5 trips to P-4 (NR WI License) and fish other WI waters 6-8 times a season. The 15$ doesn’t really bother me…but yes, are we opening another tax sinkhole?

Just another revenue source for the states. Sounds identical to snowmobiles. I would be suprised if it didn’t happen.

How far do we get pushed before a major rebellion

Our government is really good a taking more and more of our money and spending it less and less wisely. I’ll pay, but I reserve the right b__ch!!

The $15 is nothing compared to the $100 plus Tags/citations they’ll be dolling out!

I thought this type of stuff only happened in Minnesota…

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I thought this type of stuff only happened in Minnesota…

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Nah, the only place more liberal than St. Paul is the Madison.

fees, fees and more fees. Pretty soon they will have every aspect of our outdoor experience defined and licensed. Tag for this and tag for that. Betwee fees and expanding private land ownership the common man will be squeezed out like other areas of the world.

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fees, fees and more fees. Pretty soon they will have every aspect of our outdoor experience defined and licensed. Tag for this and tag for that. Betwee fees and expanding private land ownership the common man will be squeezed out like other areas of the world.

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· Accounts Receivable Tax
· Building Permit Tax
· Building Imapact Fee
· Architecture Review Fee
· Landscape Review Fee
· Mechanical Permits
· Inspection Fee
· Capital Gains Tax
· CDL license Tax
· Cigarette Tax
· Corporate Income Tax
· Court Fines (indirect taxes)
· Dog License Tax
· Federal Income Tax
· Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
· Hunting & Fishing License
· Hunting and fishing application fees
· Duck stamps
· Trout stamp
· Great Lakes Trout & Salmon stamp
· Boat Launch Fee
· Trailer registration tax
· Food License Tax
· Tax on prepared foods
· Fuel permit tax
· Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
· Inheritance Tax Interest expense (tax on the money)
· Inventory tax IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
· IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
· Liquor Tax
· Local Income Tax
· Luxury Taxes
· Marriage License Tax
· Medicare Tax
· Property Tax
· Real Estate Tax
· Septic Permit Tax
· Service Charge Taxes
· Social Security Tax
· Road Usage Taxes (Truckers)
· State Sales Taxes
· County Sales Tax
· Stadium Sales Tax
· Recreational Vehicle Tax
· Road Toll Booth Taxes
· School Tax
· State Income Tax
· State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
· Telephone federal excise tax
· Telephone federal universal service fee tax
· Telephone federal, state and local surcharge taxes
· Telephone minimum usage surcharge tax
· Telephone recurring and non-recurring charges tax
· Telephone state and local tax
· Telephone usage charge tax
· Toll Bridge Taxes
·
· Traffic Fines (indirect taxation)
· Utility Taxes
· Vehicle License Registration Tax
· Vehicle Sales Tax
· Watercraft registration Tax
· Well Permit Tax
· Workers Compensation Tax

If it passes, it will be the end of my trips there. I do not need WI to have a good fishing season. I am paying one state to license the boat, and then I am paying to license the trailer on which it rides…………

I have paid enough to be able to use the equipment that I already paid to buy and paid tax, registration, title, when I bought it. There is a straw that breaks the camel’s back…and for me, this one will be it. If the $$ I drop on a nice trip over there to Lake Michigan or the Apostle islands twice a year is not good enough for the state, then to heck with them. I’ll fish the north shore.

Tim