Tax bills go to 7 mega-yachts

In the midst of the worst economy in decades, county tax officials have found $16 million worth of yachts that weren't on the tax rolls last year, but insist there's been no increase in enforcement efforts.

Charleston County Auditor Peggy Moseley, who faced criticism in 2009 when it was pointed out that her office had not prepared a tax bill for any yacht worth $1 million or more, said her office always has been vigilant.

She was at a loss to explain why the number of million-dollar-plus yachts receiving tax bills went from zero in 2008 to seven this year.

'What we are doing is what we would do anyway,' Moseley said. 'I can tell you it's not an easy job.'

In an interview Tuesday, Moseley repeatedly said that her office's practices have nothing to do with local resident Dave Coe and his frequent allegations at County Council meetings that mega-yachts were escaping taxes.

Coe last year repeatedly asked at public meetings why the locally owned mega-yacht Themis had not been taxed.

The Themis, valued at more than $10 million, then received a six-figure tax bill in the fall of 2009, which Moseley said would have happened regardless of Coe. It was the only yacht taxed that year that was worth more than $1 million.

This year the Themis, owned by a company associated with Mount Pleasant attorney Ron Motley, again tops the list of taxed yachts, with a $277,765 property tax bill.

Six additional million-dollar- plus yachts are on the list this year, and five more worth at least a half-million dollars, The Post and Courier found after reviewing records provided by Moseley's office.

Deputy Auditor Thomas Cox, who along with Mike Romaloff was in charge of boat taxes this year, said some of the boats added to the list appeared on the annual record of boats registered in South Carolina. Others were added through the work of the auditor's office.

'There were definitely a couple of vessels over the $1 million mark that we added for the first time,' Cox said. 'There were also some boats whose values had been estimated in the past, and we went out and checked.'

The result was that the tax value of some boats soared. The Adios, for example, was valued at more than $2.1 million this year as opposed to $549,376 last year. The Adios is currently listed for sale for $2.5 million.

'I just knew when I saw it that had to be corrected,' Cox said, referring to the boat's prior tax value.

A limited liability company, whose owners could not be determined by The Post and Courier, owns the boat. South Carolina does not require the disclosure of LLC ownership.

The property taxes levied on boats in Charleston County now total $5.3 million, up from

last year's $4.6 million. Most of it came from high-value boats. The increase in taxes would be an unexpected revenue boost for schools and the county and local governments.

There are more than 20,000 boats whose owners receive property tax bills in Charleston County, but the top 50 account for one-fifth of all the property taxes.

Yacht owners, marina operators and boat-related businesses have complained that the tax laws drive away some of their most lucrative business. That's because boats registered out-of-state are taxable if they are in state waters 90 days, or 180 days in some counties, including Charleston.

It's a law the county has no

authority to change.

Art Hightower of Hightower Boatyard said bills like the one for $34,705 that he received for a 62-foot sport fishing boat are just too high.

'It's a shame because the taxes are too high for something that's recreational,' Hightower said. 'It costs enough to keep them afloat.'

He said the boat, dubbed the Hightower 62, was built by the boatyard and could be sold this month, so he's not sure that it should have been taxed as personal property.

The boatyard's website seems to offer some ammunition to the taxing authorities, however, with the statement that, 'Throughout the last year, she has fished off Charleston and has received praise, for both her finish and speed.'

Moseley said her office will continue what it always has been doing, pursuing the complicated work of determining which boats have been here long enough to tax, and taxing them accordingly.

'I think about everyone else in the state thinks we do an astronomical job,' she said.