Pretty much everyone in the boating industry thinks of Maine as one of the most boater-friendly states, but after a recent court case, The Pine Tree State may be in danger of loosing that reputation. At least Tom Toye III thinks so. A former Maine resident and retired Maine businessman who now lives in Florida, he took his 72-footer  to Portland, Maine, to have upwards of $100,000 worth of work done on her. Unfortunately, he was  unaware of a Maine law that allows the state to levy a five-percent use tax on any boat that was purchased in a state that does nor levy a use tax (in this case Florida) and comes into Maine for any reason—even to patronize its shipyards or cruise its waters—for 30 days or more. Toye challenged the tax in Maine Superior Court and lost. Unfortunately by the time he received a judgement, the original fine of $60,000 had balooned to about double that.

Toye is far from the only victime of this aggressive reading of the law. Not only have many other visiting boaters found themselves tagged with a tax bill for overstaying their welcome, the state also goes after aircraft and RV owners—bacially anyone they can make a buck off of.

To be fair, Maine isn't the only state with a program to track down nautical vsitors in an effort to squeeze money out of them. Connecticut and Maryland are both notorious for sending tax agents to boatyards, marinas, and other likely spots trying to find anyone who has been in state beyond the one-month limit.

The genisis of these program is, of course, those part- and full-time residents who purchase their boats (and aircraft and RVs, etc.) in states where there is no use tax and then try to bring them back as out-of-state visitors. Since use tax typically runs five percent and often more, a move like that can theoretically save a buyer a nice piece of change on a half-million-dollar purchase. As long as he or she remembers the immortal words of Thomas Wolfe:  "You can't go home again."