Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A. A
commercial waterman's purchase of the following items will not be subject to
the tax if directly used in the commercial fishing operation:
1. Anchors;
2. Bait;
3. Bilge pump;
4. Boat and boat motors;
5. Boat rudder and stock;
6. Boat steering gear;
7. Boat hook;
8. Boom and gaff on commercial fishing
vessel;
9. Compass;
10. Crab-pot rope and wire;
11. Depth finder;
12. Dredge and equipment including all deck
and components and repairs thereof;
13. Drive shaft and propeller;
14. Engines and other equipment;
15. Floats for net or crab-pot;
16. Foul-weather clothing worn while
extracting seafood from waters;
17.
Fuel;
18. Gas tanks;
19. Gill net and all types of nets for
extracting seafood;
20. Hand tools
used in extracting seafood;
21. Ice
for preserving seafood or bait;
22.
Inboard and outboard motors;
23.
Nails, screws and bolts used on any seafood extracting equipment except the
boat itself;
24. Oyster tubs and
baskets;
25. Nets and
twine;
26. Paint for
boats;
27. Poles and stakes used in
setting nets and marking ground for seafood;
28. Power block and accessories;
29. Pulley for deck rig or net
rigs;
30. Repair parts for exempt
equipment;
31. Rope or twine,
including wire cable, or chain for boat, net or dredge rig used to extract
seafood;
32. Rudder and shaft
zincs;
33. Running lights and deck
lights;
34. Shovels for handling
seafood in the catching process;
35. Sonar equipment to locate fish, bivalves,
or crustaceans;
36. Ship-to-shore
radios, radar equipment, and other related accessories which are permanently
affixed to a boat and become an integral part thereof;
37. Tools such as knives, shovels, etc., used
directly in a commercial fishing activity;
38. Trawl doors; and
39. Any other tangible personal property
purchased for exclusive use in extracting seafood from waters for commercial
purposes.
B. A
commercial waterman must directly use a boat, motor, machinery, tools, repair
parts, fuel, or supplies in a commercial fishing activity, otherwise the
purchase is taxable.
Example. A commercial
waterman purchases a boat which he will use to transport both himself and his
crew to his fishing vessel which is anchored in the harbor. The commercial
waterman uses the boat for transportation purposes only and not for commercial
fishing. Since the commercial waterman does not use the boat directly in his
commercial fishing operation, the boat will be taxable.
C. A commercial waterman's purchase of an
item, which is typically exempt from the tax since it is usually used directly
in a commercial fishing operation, for use in a nonexempt manner, is taxable.
Example. A commercial waterman purchases
paint to repaint a boat he uses for recreational purposes. Since the commercial
waterman uses the boat in a taxable manner, the purchase of the paint is
taxable. Had the commercial waterman purchased the paint to repaint the boat he
uses in his commercial fishing operation, the purchase would have been exempt
from the tax.
D. A
commercial waterman's use of supplies or equipment in both an exempt activity
and a taxable activity will result in such items being taxable unless he can
accurately determine the percentage of use of such items in the commercial
fishing activity as compared to his use of the items in a taxable activity. In
such case, the commercial waterman can prorate the tax due on the supplies or
equipment based upon his percentage of use of such items in the taxable
activity.
§§ 58.1-203 and 58.1-609.2(4) of the Code of
Virginia.
