Table of Contents
A tax of $3 per passenger is imposed on certain ship voyages, as explained later under Taxable situations. The tax is imposed only once for each passenger, either at the time of first embarkation or disembarkation in the United States.
The person providing the voyage (the operator of the vessel) is liable for the tax.
Voyage.
A voyage is the vessel's journey that includes the outward and homeward trips or passages. The voyage starts when
the vessel begins to load passengers and continues until the vessel has completed at least one outward and one homeward passage.
The tax may be imposed even if a passenger does not make both an outward and a homeward passage as long as the voyage begins
or ends in the United States.
Passenger.
A passenger is an individual carried on the vessel other than the Master or a crew member or other individual engaged
in the business of the vessel or its owners.
Taxable situations.
There are two taxable situations. The first situation involves voyages on commercial passenger vessels extending over
one or more nights. A voyage extends over one or more nights if it extends for more than 24 hours. A passenger vessel is any
vessel with stateroom or berth accommodations for more than 16 passengers.
The second situation involves voyages on a commercial vessel transporting passengers engaged in gambling on the vessel beyond the territorial waters of the United States. Territorial waters of the United States are those
waters within the international boundary line between the United States and any contiguous foreign country or within 3 nautical
miles (3.45 statute miles) from low tide on the coastline. If passengers participate as players in any policy game or other
lottery, or any other game of chance for money or other thing of value that the owner or operator of the vessel (or their
employee, agent, or franchisee) conducts, sponsors, or operates, the voyage is subject to the ship passenger tax. The tax
applies regardless of the duration of the voyage. A casual, friendly game of chance with other passengers that is not conducted,
sponsored, or operated by the owner or operator is not gambling for determining if the voyage is subject to the ship passenger
tax.
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