An Act to Assess a Slip Fee on Megayachts Registered in Overseas Tax Havens
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1177
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: LOOKNER, BRENNAN, CRAFTS, DILL, FAULKINGHAM, GEIGER, HEPLER, LANDRY, WILLIAMS
Amends: 38 MRSA §14

Legislative Document
No. 1177
H.P. 749
House of Representatives, March 14, 2023
An Act to Assess a Slip Fee on Megayachts Registered in Overseas 
Tax Havens
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative LOOKNER of Portland.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BRENNAN of Portland, CRAFTS of Newcastle, DILL of 
Old Town, FAULKINGHAM of Winter Harbor, GEIGER of Rockland, HEPLER of 
Woolwich, LANDRY of Farmington, WILLIAMS of Bar Harbor.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §14 is enacted to read:
§14.  Slip fees; megayachts
1. Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Fund" means the Megayacht Fund established in subsection 3.
B. "Megayacht" means a privately owned pleasure vessel owned by an individual or a 
corporation and measuring at least 100 feet in overall length.  "Megayacht" does not 
include a commercial fishing vessel, commercial cruise vessel with more than 20 
passengers not including crew, commercial scientific research vessel, marine salvage 
or construction equipment vessel or commercial freight carrying vessel.
C. "Overseas tax haven" means a country or jurisdiction outside the United States that 
imposes a corporate tax rate lower than the federal corporate tax rate on October 1, 
2023.
D.  "Slip" means a dock, mooring, finger float, pier or any other marine infrastructure 
that allows for vessels to securely stay for a period of longer than 8 hours.
2. Slip fee.  Notwithstanding any provision in a local ordinance that imposes a mooring 
fee on domestic watercraft in a municipal harbor, a municipality that pursuant to such an 
ordinance imposes mooring fees shall require a megayacht that is registered in an overseas 
tax haven to pay a fee of $10 per foot of length over 100 feet for each day that the 
megayacht is secured to a slip in that municipality's harbor. The municipality retains 10% 
of all fees collected pursuant to this subsection and shall quarterly transmit the remainder 
of those fees to the Treasurer of State for deposit in the fund established in subsection 3.
3. Megayacht Fund established. The Megayacht Fund is established to receive slip 
fees assessed and collected under subsection 2. The Treasurer of State shall quarterly 
disburse the funds within the fund as follows:
A. Fifty percent of funds must be disbursed to the Maine State Housing Authority for 
use in programs providing emergency rental assistance and for use in homelessness 
diversion programs;
B. Twenty-five percent of funds must be disbursed to the Department of Marine 
Resources; and
C. Twenty-five percent of funds must be disbursed to the Department of Transportation 
for use in public transit programs.
SUMMARY
This bill requires a megayacht registered in an overseas tax haven to be charged a fee 
of $10 per foot per day that the megayacht is secured to a slip in a municipal harbor.  The 
first 100 feet of overall length of the megayacht are excluded from the calculation of the 
total fee.  The fee is collected by the municipality that has jurisdiction over the waters in 
which the megayacht is secured, and that municipality retains 10% of the fee collected.  
The bill also establishes the Megayacht Fund, into which the remaining 90% of the fee is 
deposited.  The Treasurer of State disburses 50% of the Megayacht Fund to the Maine State 
Housing Authority for use in programs providing emergency rental assistance and 
homelessness diversion programs, 25% to the Department of Marine Resources and 25% 
to the Department of Transportation for use in public transit programs.