• Strong Advocacy Efforts Lead to Boater Victory in Garden State
In late June, Governor Murphy officially signed the 2026 New Jersey State Budget, keeping the boat tax unchanged.
The Marine Trades Association of New Jersey exemplifies how vital state marine trades associations are in advocating for our industry. Their efforts highlight the importance of staying engaged and ensuring we have strong representation in state legislatures across the country. To clarify, Governor Murphy has now attempted twice to raise the tax and remove the cap — and both times, the effort was successfully stopped. The tax remains at half the applicable Sales Tax rate (3.3125%), up to a maximum of $20,000.
The New Jersey Marine Trades Association extended a special thanks to their lobbyist, Rob Nixon, for his tireless work advocating on behalf of our industry. In addition, it thanked legislative leadership for recognizing the economic importance of recreational boating in New Jersey and supporting our efforts.
Boat Sales Tax Cap and Reduction History
As previously reported, Governor Murphy had announced a plan to repeal the Boat Sales Tax Cap and Reduction in his Fiscal Year 2026 Budget. The MTA of N.J. immediately went to work contacting key leaders, testifying at budget hearings and communicating, in the critical weeks leading up to budget negotiations, how repealing the tax cap and reduction would devastate the industry.
The message was simple. Repealing the boat sales tax cap and reduction would lead to fewer boats being sold and registered in New Jersey. Similarly, buyers would instead purchase, dock, service, and maintain those boats in other states with more competitive tax rates. This would greatly impact all related boating businesses and those employed at them — marinas, dealers, bait and tackle shops, gas retailers, repair service, storage, restaurants and more. Moreover, the state would not only lose the tax revenue from boat sales but from all these critical ancillary and annual expenditures.
MTAs — Vital MRAA Partners
The victory in New Jersey is just one of the many examples of how State Marine Trade Associations (SMTA) are a critical part to protecting the interests of marine retailers throughout the country. Marine Trade Associations are invaluable partners for the MRAA. Furthermore, we often work together on overlapping policy priorities and fight together against regulations and proposed tax increases that would threaten your business or customers. For instance, in Washington State, the MRAA worked with the Northwest Marine Trades Association to fight, and ultimately win, against a similar proposal. Learn more about that victory here.
In conclusion, each state represents unique opportunities and challenges for the recreational boating industry and MRAA Members. Furthermore, the MRAA Government Relations Team fights for you in state legislatures nationwide. From challenging harmful right-to-repair bills, advocating for favorable tax and insurance policies or backing initiatives for mandatory boater education, we’re ready to support you. Learn more an connect with Chad Tokowicz, MRAA Government Relations Manager, at chad@mraa.com.
