Some of us at the HOTLINE are old enough to remember the 10% “Yacht Tax” that was part of the infamous 1990 George H.W. Bush budget deal tax increase.  Then-Senate Democrats like Ted Kennedy and Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell crowed publicly about how the rich would finally be paying their fair share. (We always loved the irony of Ted Kennedy pimping for a yacht tax!)

Instead, retailers reported a 77% drop in sales that year, while boat builders estimated layoffs at 25,000. The tax flop was repealed a few years later.

Here we go again.

The New York State Senate wants a new luxury tax on boats valued at $230,000 or more and mansions worth $5 million or more.

Geez, will they ever learn? Luxury taxes hurt the working class workers who make the luxuries – not the rich who buy them.