Lawmaker paid no sales tax on boat

LINCOLN — A Nebraska lawmaker never paid sales taxes on his high-powered motorboat, and his actions appear to be perfectly legal.

State Sen. Kent Rogert of Tekamah operates his 1996 Baja 272 with a boat dealer registration number — and has since he bought it in 2003.

The $50 dealer registration fee, due every three years, allowed him to avoid paying sales taxes, which could have been roughly $2,600 to $3,000.

Rogert said he is a legitimate, although small, boat dealer and has been trying unsuccessfully for years to sell the 28-foot, 310-horsepower Baja.

“I'm not interested in dumping the boat for a huge loss, which is where values are right now,” he said.

Similar to a dealer license plate for a car, a boat dealer registration number can be used when testing or demonstrating any boat a dealer owns.

A boat dealer does not pay sales taxes on boats in inventory. Those taxes will presumably be paid by the ultimate purchaser of the craft.

But Nebraska does not regulate boat dealers in the same way it regulates motor vehicle, trailer and motorcycle dealers. Those retailers must be licensed and operate with oversight from a special board.

Boat dealers are different.

No licensing requirements apply to them. Betty Johnson, driver and vehicle records administrator for the state, said those in the know could just walk into a county treasurer's office and claim to be a dealer.

The 37-year-old Rogert said that's not the case with him.

He said he obtained the dealer number in December 2002 because he wanted to sell boats, along with his other business ventures. At the time, he had no boats.

Rogert said he has sold fewer than 10 boats since obtaining his dealer registration number. He said he bought and sold one earlier this year.

He has not made enough money on boat sales in any one year — a minimum of $1,000 — to require him to list the boat business on his annual financial disclosure statements, which elected officials must file.

Rogert makes his living as a real estate agent and owns an agricultural consulting business. Between those enterprises and his legislative duties, he said he has not had much time to devote to selling boats.

Rogert was elected to the Legislature in 2006 and has filed as a candidate for re-election in 2010.

“The economy is difficult right now, and the buying and selling of boats is not profitable, so that is not an aspect of my business that I'm relying on right now,” he said.

He has kept the dealer number, renewing it in 2006 and 2009, in hopes of making more of the business in the future.

Rogert got his dealer registration number initially in Douglas County. He renewed it in Burt County when he changed his business address.

Brett Manire, manager of Premier Boating Center in Lincoln, said current state laws were designed to accommodate small operators who want to buy a boat, fix it up and sell it without paying sales tax.

Motor vehicle dealers, by contrast, must comply with regulations that cover everything from the name of their business to holding auto liability insurance.

Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing said he would support changes that tighten up state law and ensure that everyone pays a fair share of taxes.

He said he will be looking at Rogert's situation to see if any taxes are due.

Neither he nor Johnson would speculate how many boat owners might hold questionable boat dealer registration numbers.

There have been discussions about changing state boat dealer law, but no proposal has passed. Rogert said he would be open to such discussions.

In the meantime, he estimated that he uses the Baja monthly during the summer.

Manire estimated that the boat would have cost between $35,000 and $40,000 at the time Rogert bought it.

“It's a nice boat. It's a fairly common boat around here,” he said.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com

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