More bull****;

http://www.boatus.com/gov/alert.htm

MARYLAND'S $50 BOAT SLIP TAX SHOULD BE SCUTTLED
BoatU.S., the nation's largest organization of recreational boaters,
strongly criticized a proposal by Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich to levy a
yearly $50 fee on all marina boat slips throughout the state and urged its
35,000 Maryland members to contact their state senators and delegates
immediately to let them know of their opposition to the proposal. One out of
six boat owners in Maryland is a BoatU.S. member and as many as one of every
two slip holders belongs to BoatU.S.

"This is a new tax, not a 'user fee'." said BoatU.S. President Jim Ellis, a
resident of Arnold, Maryland. The purported purpose of Governor Ehrlich's
so-called "user fee" is to raise money to protect Maryland's wetlands.
"While restoring wetlands is a worthy undertaking that every Maryland
resident should support," said Ellis, "vessels large enough to be kept in
marina slips receive no special benefits from wetlands, so we fail to
understand why slip holders are being singled to pay for this program."

"This new tax proposal adds insult to injury," said Ellis, pointing out that
the state already collects millions of dollars each year from boaters in
marine fuel taxes but diverts 70% of these funds to non-boating purposes.

"It doesn't seem fair to ask recreational boaters to pay more when most of
the money they're already paying isn't being used to benefit boating," said
Ellis, noting that recreational boaters also pay millions each year to the
state in sales and use taxes as well as boat registration and launch ramp
fees.

Maryland boaters can go to http://www.BoatUS.com/gov and click on the State
News Alert section for a sample letter on the issue and a listing of their
state legislators.

BoatU.S. - Boat Owners Association of The United States - is the nation's
leading advocate for recreational boaters and provides its 550,000 members
with a wide array of consumer services including a group-rate marine
insurance program that provides over $8 billion in hull coverage; the
largest fleet of more than 500 towing assistance vessels; discounts on fuel,
slips, and repairs at over 700 Cooperating Marinas; boat financing; and a
subscription to BoatU.S. Magazine, the most widely read boating publication
in the U.S.