John Kerry must have a sinking feeling. Not only has the Massachusetts senator's much-vaunted energy bill been thrown overboard by the Democrats, but he's also in hot water over his family's new $7 million yacht. Kerry has decided to berth the vessel in the "nautical tax haven" of Rhode Island rather than in his home state — a canny move that will deny cash-strapped Massachusetts about $500,000 in tax revenue. Clearly, says Howie Carr in the Boston Herald, "all that Vietnam-era nautical training has taught him how to take evasive action... tax evasion." But Kerry's actually doing the right thing by avoiding the Massachussets tax, says John Hinderaker at PowerLine. States "must compete for residents and for business," and maybe his "rational tax avoidance will embarrass Massachusetts into competing with its neighbors." Watch a news report about Kerry's yacht:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Syria's returning refugeesThe Explainer Thousands of Syrian refugees are going back to their homeland but conditions there remain extremely challenging
-
Rustle up some fun at these Western hotels and dude ranchesThe Week Recommends Six properties that are ready to rope you in
-
Codeword: July 2, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
