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Cruise lines aren't paying their share
Arnie Reichenthal
BOYNTON BEACH
January 20 2006

Our nation was born with the slogan, "Taxation without representation is tyranny."

We are learning that representation without taxation is equally unjust.

One of the most lucrative industries and an example of this inequity is the cruise lines of America. Billion-dollar vessels are built in foreign countries and crew members are predominantly noncitizens.

Furthermore, registration, certification or licensing for these mega-luxury liners is in foreign countries that offer the least expensive fees. The lucrative gambling concessions are absolved from reporting winnings or receipts to the Internal Revenue Service because they are outside the jurisdiction of the U.S.

Crew members who deal directly with the passengers are dependent upon the passengers' gratuities for income. The management strongly suggests the minimum gratuities that each passenger should distribute.

The cruise lines have been showering their corporations and shareholders with generous returns.

Noteworthy, the great majority of these travelers are citizens of the USA.

Perhaps the lobbying practices that take place should be scrutinized more emphatically.

The existing loopholes (ethical abuses) should be curtailed and the revenues avoided should be rightfully collected.

In turn, the added funds that are collected might be directed to such frivolous programs as education and/or law enforcement.

Legislators, this is a wake-up call (reveille) for you to wish a "bon voyage" to these inequitable giveaways.

Sun-Sentinel

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Cruise lines and taxes complicated
Stanley Priskie
BOCA RATON
January 25, 2006

Re Friday's letter, "Cruise lines aren't paying their share": The only accurate statement was that the cruise industry pays little or no taxes to the U.S., state or local governments. However, they (the cruise lines) contribute substantially to the economy of South Florida and other ports of call.

After World War II, Congress passed the Jones Act, which imposed restrictions on the flying of the American flag. Basically there are two parts to the act. One is that ships must be constructed in an American shipyard and be staffed by an American crew. Since WWII, there have been very few ships constructed in the United States and, therefore, all commercial ships, except for a few exceptions, fly the flags of foreign nations. Therefore, the ships are registered in a foreign country, revenues are earned when sailing in international waters and the U.S. government has no claim to tax these entities.

The Jones Act was passed to protect the American labor force and the American ship-building industry. It had a reverse effect.

We also imposed a luxury excise tax on autos when the main impact was on American-made autos, and we accelerated the Japanese and lower-cost European cars into the American market.

We had the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to eliminate abuses of real estate tax shelters. Effectively, we destroyed (temporarily) the real estate market and with it took down the savings and loan industry, closed savings banks or converted them into commercial banks, and several commercial banks were put out of business including our own Southeast Bank.

We are the only nation that imposes income taxes on worldwide income. Look at all the multinational companies, and you will see that they only pay taxes on monies earned in the United States and that is minimal to their worldwide earnings. However, we as American investors benefit when these companies pay dividends to their shareholders, and our country benefits when we pay taxes on the dividends. Nothing is simple.

For the record, I have never been an employee, officer or shareholder of a cruise line. In my former life, I was a certified public accountant in public practice.

Sun-Sentinel

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Talk about '' hearing both sides of an argument''...that was well presented.
Funny how chronic complainers often forget to look beyond their own emotions when getting on their soap box....only to find the bottom is a bit less sturdy than they originally tought when they jumped on it in the first place....