THE passing of President Bill Clinton's budget package last week has put an end to the boat excise tax that helped drive the United States marine industry into recession and push workers out of jobs.
Boat builders expect the news to have an immediate impact on sales, production and work-force levels as dealers tie up pending orders.
''Our manufacturers don't view repeal so much as a victory as a chance to get back to where they were before this damnable tax wreaked havoc on their businesses,'' said National Marine Manufacturers Association president Jeff Napier.
''It is hard to be elated when our own government's action created a loss of 30,000 American jobs and destroyed dozens of companies in the process.'' Mr Napier was, however, quick to acknowledge members of Congress who worked hard on behalf of the industry over the past 21/2 years.
''We are grateful to those in the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as those in the marine industry, who persisted in eliminating this tax,'' he said.
Mr Napier named Senators John Breaux, John Chafee and George Mitchell, and Congressmen Clay Shaw, David Bonier and Ben Cardin as instrumental in advancing legislation to repeal the excise tax and in gaining bi-partisan recognition that the tax was failedpolicy.
First conceived three years ago as a symbolic gesture to cull revenue from the rich, the 10 per cent tax began having an immediate impact on boat sales as buyers adopted a wait-and-see attitude.
