Lake Lanier Shore Sweep 2009 and Bethel Park Town Hall Meeting

Dear List Members,

The Lake Lanier Association is pleased to announce Shore Super Sweep 2009, an ongoing volunteer program to clean up the shoreline of Lake Lanier.  Because of the low water levels, large amounts of trash are still exposed on the shore around the lake.  The Lake Lanier Association has arranged for designated dumpsters at three sites around Lake Lanier for disposal of trash that volunteers collect.

Two dumpsters are available for trash drop off via lake access only; Chestnut Ridge Park boat ramp, and a location on the south side of Young Deer.  The Chestnut Ridge Park boat ramp can be accessed between FB2 and FB4, and the ramp is in the last cove on the west side of the park, close to its entrance.  The Forsyth County dumpster is between YD4 and YD5 on the south side of the creek.  Volunteers disposing of collected trash by vehicle may go to Gainesville Marina, where a dumpster is in place at the south boat ramp.

The Lake Lanier Association thanks W.L. Hailey and Company for the use of their dumpster on Young Creek, the Corps of Engineers, Lake Lanier Islands and Gainesville Marina.

This ongoing program is made possible by a generous grant the Lake Lanier Association received last year from the BoatUS Foundation.  The association thanks J & J Disposal for their continued support.  Any groups wishing to plan an organized clean up may arrange it through the association office.

Please mark your calendars for the 21st Annual Shore Sweep on September 19, 2009.  For more information, please call the association at 770-503-7757 visit their Web site at www.lakelanier.org.

Bethel Park Town Hall Meeting

The Lake Lanier Association has received an email from Forsyth County Commissioner Patrick Bell with details of a Town Hall Meeting on March 3 regarding Bethel Park.

Forsyth County District 4 Commissioner Patrick Bell will hold a town hall meeting regarding Bethel Park Tuesday, March 3 at 6:30 PM. The meeting will be held at Chestatee Elementary School, located at 6945 Keith Bridge Road (Highway 306).

This will not be a Q&A session, the format will follow standard Public Comments to allow attendees as much an opportunity to provide input and comments regarding Bethel Park.  The time scheduled is 1 1/2 hours with 45 minutes afforded both proponents and opponents.

For those not aware of the issue, Forsyth County and the US Army Corps of Engineers are currently in litigation.  Forsyth County claims the Corps did not offer Bethel Park to the county prior to offering it to the YMCA.  The YMCA has proposed building a summer camp facility and Forsyth County had proposed an RV Park and Learning Center.  Forsyth County filed suit against the Corps of Engineers and has a hearing pending.

Boat Owners May Have Federal Tax Benefits Available

NEWS From BoatU.S.
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
BoatU.S. News Room at http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864, SCroft@BoatUS.com

ALEXANDRIA, Va., January 19, 2009 – Recreational boat owners who paid state sales taxes on a boat purchase, or those who secured a bank loan to finance a boat, may have some tax deductions available when filing their 2008 federal income tax return.

The Sales Tax Deduction

For boat owners who paid substantial state sales taxes on a new or used boat purchase last year, the Tax Extenders Act of 2008 signed by President Bush on October 3 continues to offer a federal tax benefit with a deduction for state sales taxes. Boaters must choose either the state sales tax deduction or state income tax deduction on their federal tax return — you cannot take both.

In addition, to take the state sales tax deduction, the sales tax on a boat purchase must be applied at the same tax rate as the state’s general sales tax. In order to claim the sales tax deduction, tax returns must be itemized. State sales taxes are entered on IRS form Schedule A, line 5b.

The Boat Loan Deduction

For those owners with a secured boat loan, mortgage interest paid on the loan may be deductible from your federal income taxes. Taxpayers may use the “second home” mortgage interest deduction for one primary home and one second home and must itemize deductions on their returns. A boat is considered a second home for federal tax purposes if it has a galley, a head, and sleeping berth.

Some boaters may be unaware of this potential tax benefit because not all lending institutions send borrowers an Internal Revenue Service form 1098 which reports the interest paid. Not receiving the form does not preclude taking the deduction. If a 1098 is not available, boaters should contact their lender for the amount of interest paid and should enter it on line 11 on Schedule A along with the lender’s tax ID number. If a form 1098 is sent, boaters should simply enter the amount on line 10 of Schedule A.

Sorry, AMT

For those who fall under the Alternative Minimum Tax, most deductions are unavailable as taxes are calculated differently. Boaters are urged to contact a tax preparer or financial advisor for more information.

For more details on the mortgage deduction, go to http://www.IRS.gov and download Publication 936 or the Fact Sheets. For state tax deduction information download Publication 600, which also includes state-by-state tax tables.

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About BoatU.S.:
BoatU.S. – Boat Owners Association of The United States – is the nation’s leading advocate for recreational boaters providing its 600,000 members with government representation, programs and money saving services. For membership information visit http://www.BoatUS.com or call 800-395-2628.