Did lack of tax refunds hurt boat sales?
The Internal Revenue Service usually overestimates the money it withholds from taxpayers each year, but this year, it underestimated the amount of withholding for millions of taxpayers. That means many of those who typically receive hundreds or thousands of dollars in refunds from the U.S. government had to write checks, according to The Street.
The 2017 tax cut increased the after-tax income of most Americans by about 1 percent, even among those who owed thousands of dollars this past April, the publication pointed out. The trouble is that distributing those savings over the course of a year caused most people to miss the extra amount in their paychecks.
May’s Pulse Report survey asks dealers to weigh in on whether the lack of refunds for middle-class Americans hindered new-boat sales or created positive momentum among high earners.
It also asks dealers to discuss market conditions in for the month.
The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas and Baird Research launched the Pulse Report in 2013. Soundings Trade Only partners with Baird to distribute the survey and report the results.
The surveys analyze such industry data points as new-boat demand, inventory levels and access to credit, as well as the Marine Retail Sentiment Index.
Click here to take the survey.
