BoatBanter.com - View Single Post

On Wed, 2 Feb 2005 14:52:28 -0500, (N.L. Eckert)
wrote:

Capt. Jeff wrote:
Let's say a licensed master decides to offer to donate a boat ride to a
charitable organization's service auction. This group gets the money
when someone pays for the ride, the buyer gets the boat ride, the
captain gets nothing but a warm fuzzy feeling for contributing to the
charity. This is clearly not a part of any business, and the captain is
not in this business anyway.
Has the captain received compensation for this according to USCG
regulations? Does this mean s/he needs chartering insurance, has to be
documented, etc. to do this annually?
Capt. Jeff
=================================
This is interesting. A few years ago, I did pretty much exactly what
you are describing here. My wife was involved in a charity auction and
had nothing to donate, so I suggested that I take a couple guys out for
a day of fishing on my boat. She made up a picnic lunch for everyone on
board. Since the money was paid directly to the charity, I never gave
any thought to the fact that I may be considered a "charter boat
skipper". We had a nice day and no problems and I forgot all about it.
But, this info makes me wonder if I was putting myself at risk...

To put it simply, if something had happened, you might have had a
problem. Since Jeff first posted this, I looked into it a little
more. This might get a little hinky but bear with it.

If the donated offer is for a "Day of sportfishing with Capt. Tom
Francis of Short Wave Sportfishing", for example, then your donation
can be deemed as part of your business affairs (promotion of same) and
thus, you are culpable, liable and every other ble you can think of.
You will be acting in your professional capacity. You would also be
acting as a agent of the charity which presents a whole different set
of problems. Additionally, if you take the donation as a business
expense, more evidence against you.

If it is a private offer "Day of sportfishing on Narragansett Bay"
with no reference to your qualifications or business then there isn't
any reasonable direct compensation (for pay). You are not acting as a
professional. Oddly, you can take this as a personal donation dollar
amount - my accountant was very sure the standard charity deduction
would be allowable, but only to the amount of expenses occurred on the
trip. The only hinky part is that you could not take any money for
"shared expenses" which is allowed - it all has to be on your dime.

There are always caveats, but on it's face, that would seem to be what
happens from a legal standpoint. From a practical standpoint, if you
keep your business affairs separate from your personal affairs, then
you should be fine.

Please note, I am not an attorney nor am I legally qualified to give
legal advice. I am simply reporting what I researched and gave a
personal opinion.

How's that for a qualifier? :)

Later,

Tom