Kentucky Tax Bills May Sink Some Boat Owners

Hundreds of Kentucky boat owners could now have to pay taxes, they were not responsible for in the past. Previously, boat owners weren’t required to pay property taxes on house boats or cabin cruisers because they were registered with the Coast Guard and not the state.Officials with the Kentucky Department of Revenue have won Coast Guard approval to use its files to identify the boats and their owners. The state began notifying boat owners last summer they were behind in their taxes. Tax bills totaling $2.5 million, about $700-a-person, have gone out across the state.