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MMTA ENews: February 8, 2007



WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!

Please join us in welcoming these members whose applications were approved at the January and February 2007 meetings of the Board of Directors.

CLE Engineering, Inc.
Susan Nilson, P.E., President
T: (508) 748-0937
W: www.cleengineering.com
Professionals - Surveyors, Consultants, Designers
Engineering & Consulting Services

River's Edge Yacht Sales
Eric Smith, President
T: (508) 324-9500
W: www.riversedgeyacht.com
Brokerage and New Boat Sales

Remsen Insurance Agency, Inc.
Eric Remsen, President
T: (781) 444-4411
W: www.remseninsuranceagency.com
Remsen Insurance Agency represents a wide variety of personal lines and commercial lines insurance companies. Providers of Boat Insurance. We have been servicing New England since 1978.


Please Save the Date! Thursday - May 3, 2007

Your presence is requested at The Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology's Annual Fundraiser.

THURSDAY,MAY 3,2007 6-9PM
41 Berkeley Street
Boston, Massachusetts

Your invitation will arrive in March. Come Celebrate With Franklin. Franklin's legacy to Boston Educating urban youth for technical careers, partnering with local schools, communities and industry. The school is one of the most diverse colleges in New England.

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USCG Master's License Class Feb 24 - Mar 18, 2007

MMTA Member http://www.BoatWise has a USCG Masters License Class coming up at Northern Essex Community College starting February 24, 2007. This is a 10 credit college course which qualifies for tuition reimbursement and financial assistance and is also the only USCG License class in this region which is approved as a college course.

Classes start February 24, 2007 and conclude on March 18th. 80 Hours of classroom instruction are held all day Saturdays and Sundays and Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Classroom instruction is followed by the Baotwise test: a USCG exam is not required.

Contact Boatwise's Rick or Sue Kilborn at 1-800-698-7373 or email at captains@boatwise.com.

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All Industry Grow Boating Update Meeting in Miami - February 14

The Grow Boating Initiative will host a special meeting to update all industry stakeholders on Grow Boating programs and their progress on Wednesday, February 14, just prior to the start of the Miami International Boat Show. This annual All-Industry Update is one of the most important gatherings of the year for our industry and will be held in Room A204-205 at the Miami Beach Convention Center from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.

The 90-minute program, entitled "Grow Boating 2007: Set for Success," promises to be both informative and entertaining, with Grow Boating President Thom Dammrich interviewing industry leaders on a mocked-up set of a late night talk show. You won't want to miss it.

For those unable to make it to Miami, the program will air on the industry-only portion of GrowBoating.org at the end of February. To view the program as well as additional industry-only information about Grow Boating Programs and to subscribe to Grow Boating's monthly e-newsletter, register today at http://www.GrowBoating.org.

For more information, contact Grow Boating director Steve Tadd at (312) 946-6246; stadd@nmma.org.

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Congressional Extension of Sales Tax Deduction Includes Boats

Thanks to action taken by Congress in December, tax filers who made a large purchase in 2006, such as a boat, may deduct state and local sales taxes paid if the tax rate applied to the boat was the same as the state's general sales tax.

"Some taxpayers may be confused because the usual extension of these provisions were not approved by Congress until after the IRS had already printed its forms in November for the 2006 tax year," said Elaine Dickinson, assistant vice president of BoatU.S. Government Affairs.

"We've been hearing from our members that even their own accountants are unaware of the extension since it did not appear on the printed 2006 Schedule A (Form 1040)," said Dickinson. A notice on the IRS Web site, http://www.irs.gov, outlines the so-called "extender provisions." It also lets taxpayers know that returns with these deductions will not be processed until Feb. 3 to give the agency time to incorporate the latest legislation into its processing systems for '06 returns. To get the deduction, filers must itemize their deductions.

"Taxpayers may deduct either sales taxes or state income taxes, but not both," said Dickinson. The deduction for state and local general sales taxes may be claimed on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 5, "State and local income taxes." Enter "ST" on the dotted line to the left of line 5 to indicate you are claiming the general sales tax deduction instead of the deduction for state and local income tax, according to the IRS.

For more on state tax deductions, you can download IRS Publication 600, which include state-by-state tax tables, by going to http://www.irs.gov or by calling 1-800-829-1040, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays.

BoatU.S. - Boat Owners Association of The United States - is the nation's leading advocate for recreational boaters.

Visit: http://www.boatus.com/news/releases.asp

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Tell Us If You Need More Boating Access in YOUR Town

The Massachusetts Office of Fishing & Boating (formerly known as the Public Access Board) is the small governmental agency which creates and maintains boat ramps for the general public to access Commonwealth waterways, both inland and coastal. In addition to providing much needed respite and recreation, these ramps are crucial economic links in the chain of the $1.8 billion in annual revenues attributed to the recreational boating experience in Massachusetts.

Some areas of the Commonwealth are reasonably well served in relation to the demand for boater access. Many, if not most, are not. MMTA's membership is uniquely able to provide educated comment on what areas would most benefit from more public access boat ramps.

Please send an email to Leona.Roach@boatma.com to recommend geographic areas where more public access boat ramps are needed.

Visit: http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/pab/index.htm

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Links of Interest

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