Boat registrations

[Descant]

There is a registration fee and a tax. In general the tax goes to the taxing authority, town or state, depending on where you pay. If you pay in Gilford, at the Town Clerk's office or a marina, the tax goes to the town. My recollection is that this amounts to $300-$400K in Gilford. Historically, the Gilford Island Association has encouraged islanders to pay in Gilford to support Glendale. If you register at MP HQ in Glendale, there is no local benefit. There is also a $5 agent's fee collected by whatever agent does the paperwork. If you mail to Concord or MP HQ, there is no agent, so no $5. Buried in the state registration fee, there is money for Fish & Game, Milfoil, Navigation Safety Fund, etc. There is even $1 available to Town Clerks since the law authorizing them to do registrations would be an unfunded mandate if that $1 weren't there. Much of this used to be printed on the back of the old registration, deleted when the forms changed.