The Walz 100% boat fee hike hits middle class as half of Minnesota boat owners make less than $100k. He even imposed a kayak and paddleboard fee hike.

Kamala Harris running mate Tim Walz doubled Minnesota’s boat registration fees, imposing higher costs on middle class households after blowing through an $18 billion budget surplus.

48% of MN boat owners make less than $100k per year, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Another estimate from the department puts the number at 64%.

This is more evidence that Harris and Walz have no qualms about raising taxes and fees on everyday Americans.

Walz boat registration fee hikes:

100% Walz fee hike on boats under 17 feet: For boats under 17 feet, Walz doubled the fee from $18 to $36.

119% Walz fee hike on boats between 17-19 feet: For boats between 17 and 19 feet, Walz more than doubled the fee from $27 to $59.

These are common fishing and recreational boats for middle class Minnesota families.

119% Walz fee hike on kayaks and paddleboards: Walz even imposed a paddleboard and kayak registration fee of $23.

78% Walz fee hike on boats used by safety nonprofits: Leaving no stone unturned in his quest to extract more money out of Minnesota wallets, Walz imposed boat fee hikes on summer camps and nonprofits that teach boating safety. He hiked the fee from $4.50 to $8.00.

See the table below:

Walz signed the fees into law on May 24, 2023 as part of his budget which imposed a long list of tax increases.

Minnesota has 11,842 lakes larger than 10 acres and boat ownership is common. There are 613,000 motorized boats in the state and 822,450 if you count canoes and kayaks.

Walz could have easily avoided the fee increases. He blew an $18 billion surplus and still chose to stick it to already-overtaxed Minnesotans.

“His first instinct is to demand more taxes from families,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “And in Minnesota reaching out to tax family time on the lake in the state of 10,000 lakes. Have a kayak? Send Tim Walz twenty-three dollars. He has no time to manage the budget, just to grow taxes.”

Stay tuned to ATR’s Kamalanomics.org for updates.