Motorboat Gas Taxes in the Great Lakes Region

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This report examined motorboat gas tax allocation programs in Great Lakes states (Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) and compared them with Wisconsin’s program. The study assessed how states in the Great Lakes region estimate and allocate taxes on motorboat fuels to water protection efforts. The study also evaluated how Wisconsin’s motorboat gas tax allocation program compares with other regional programs.

In 1987, Wisconsin Act 27 created the Water Resources Account (WRA), a repository for the portion of gasoline sales tax revenue estimated to be attributable to motorboat use. The WRA funds the development of state and local recreational boating facilities, lake and river management activities and grant programs, dam inspection and safety, and Fox River management.

The original program allocated motorboat fuel tax revenues based on the formula of 50 gallons of fuel per registered boat annually. A multiplier of 1.4 times the motorboat fuel tax revenue was added to the formula as part of the 1991-1993 Wisconsin State Budget Adjustment Bill (Act 269) to account for non-resident
purchases of motorboat fuel. Wisconsin’s formula for estimating motorboat gas taxes has not been adjusted since the addition of the multiplier in 1991.

As a percent of total gas tax revenues, Wisconsin’s program nets ~1.26% of the state’s total gasoline sales tax revenue, or ~$11 million annually at the time of the 2004 study.

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