Conference noted::equitation

    
    My husband has been teasing me all week about breeding horses in
    Massachusetts. He tells me they're going to charge taxes for the
    stallions' labor!
    
    How does this affect breeding? Are boarding charges considered rent
    or labor?
    		Nancy
    

    Well, for those of you that didn't read the bad news in the paper last
    night, here it is.
    
    Farriers are under consideration.
    
    Definitely being taxed:  riding club memberships, hunt club
    memberships, horse shows, renting horses, riding schools/academies,
    riding lessons!!  I couldn't figure out about board as if you're not
    taking lessons or renting a horse, what else are you doing at a riding
    school/academy?  However, I guess whatever it is you're doing, you're
    being taxed.
    
    Flame on:  hope everybody read carefully who voted for/against the
    package to know how to vote next November (assuming we're able to pay
    for the gas to get to the polls)  Flame off!

    Just another reason to look at estate elsewhere
    
    Dave'
    

  In the March 1991 Dressage and CT, the USCTA mentioned that 
  for events in Massachusetts, they may have to start charging
  a  5% sales TAX on all entries for "entertainment events" 
  which specifically includes "amateur sporting events" for
  which the entry fee is $30 or more. This will also include
  stabling charges and spectator entry fees. I imagine that
  dressage entry fees are also going to be subject to this tax.
  This tax is to go into effect on March 1, 1991. 

    re .53
    
    Incredible.  Just Incredible!  What a state.  Pretty soon, Mass folks
    will have to pay a tax to go to the, B___room.  How do they put up with
    it?

       I think in some parts of the state we already have that one.

I received a notice in the mail from my town board of assessors.  The notice
is mostly slanted toward farms and farm equipment and it starts off reading...

"If you are engaged in agricultural persuits,"  then goes on to ask you to
list your farm equipment, vehicles, animals (including horses).

I've owned my horses over 20 years and have never received anything like
this before.  I figured, well, I'm not engaged in agricultural persuits,
so never returned it.

Now my town is after me to fill it out and list all my horses.  It sounds
like another gimmick to suck more money out of me in taxes.

Has anyone else been required to do this.

BTW:  The state is Mass. (of course)

    When I boarded in Andover, Mass. I recieved a yearly tax bill for 
    something like $12 for each horse. The stable owners had supplied the
    state with a list of all their boarders, and apparently the state
    valued every horse at $1000 (unless the owner wished to contest
    otherwise). I had the horse there 2 years, after I moved her home to
    NH I got the bill the first year, totally ignored it, and it went away.
    

    
    I have to re-new a barn permit every year ($5), but that's from
    the town.  (I'm in MA)  What is it, some new luxury tax?

    It's not new, I remember my father had to pay $10 a year on my horse,
    and that was thirty years ago.  It was in Holden which was then quite a
    snob town. I think it paid for the animal inspector.
     We also had over 50 goats and one year the town sent a bill for them.
    My parents were very poor and since they couldn't pay it, they had to
    get rid of the goats.  (as a kid I remember my father saying that they 
    wanted as much as the goats were worth). He thinks the town just wanted
    him to get rid of them, almost all the farmers there are gone now.
    
    

    re: .7
    
    The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has for a very long time had laws
    that allow cities and towns to levy excise taxes on various
    "possessions". The one everyone is familiar with is the Auto Excise
    Tax. In theory, they can tax the equipment a business might use,
    machine tools, pizza ovens or whatever, used in its normal operations.
    Farm animals can also be taxed. In Groton, MA, the Tax Collector used
    to count up all the horses on January 1st and send out tax bills. I
    haven't received a bill in several years now and haven't inquired why
    not. I guess it wasn't worth the effort for them to collect the $1.65
    or whatever small amount the bill was.

    RE:  .11
    
    I believe the town of Groton still taxes horses, I had to give
    the value of my horse and my name and address to them for tax
    purposes.
    
    Linda

    I believe it is a personal property tax.  We pay it every year in
    Sterling.  It is up to the town as to whether or not they want to
    enforce it.
    
    Kathie