Conference wahoo::fishing-v2

    re:    They could claim the fair market retail value of the fish
           on their income tax (with receipts of course).
    
    Hey Ray...what's the fair market value of a kibby?  8^)
    
    -Joe-
    

<    		1. They wouldn't need a commercial licence.
<    

	indicating you are not going to exploit any commercial value the
	catch may have

<    		2. They could claim the fair market retail value of the fish
<    		   on their income tax (with receipts of course).
<    

	indicating you ARE going to exploit the retail value of the catch

    which way do you want it???  I don't think you can have it both ways.

Al

    re:2
    
    	So you're saying that it would be OK to donate them, but you don't
    think that you could legally claim any value for them unless you had a
    commercial license ?
    
    	Ray

    .2 seems pretty unambiguous from here (and at face value appears to be
    a reasonable premise).
    
    I'd add that it's likely you could only claim a wholesale value (ie:
    what the catch might bring if you *had* sold it) - and not the retail 
    value - unless you also possessed a common victualler's licence...
    
    At that point, I'd question whether it's worth the PITA that could
    result from a curious/motivated IRS agent having a go at your filing
    (or filings - if they want)...
    
    
    

    	If I got a commercial license, selling the fish wholesale would 
    certainly be easier and benefit me much more than claiming the value of 
    donating it. Donating it would help out others and help me offset some 
    costs, even if I could only claim the wholesale value.
    
    	I'm not sure, but if soup kitchens get any sort of Federal aid,
    then this is in essence the same thing. It shouldn't much matter if 
    the aid comes out of a general fund or off my taxes (which was what I was
    thinking). Course this assumes a soup kitchen gets Federal aid.
    
    	RAYJ

    I inquired about donating fish when I was dropping off clothes
    at a shelter in Worcester about a month ago.  They seemed interested
    and gave me the number of a soup kitchen in Worcester, telling me
    to call them when I have fish to donate.

    As far as a deduction goes, I assume we're not talking thousands of $'s
    worth of fish here, maybe a couple hundred worth or so ?   In that
    case I'd make the donation and take the deduction, and not worry about
    any commercial licenses. You wouldn't be making a profit directly, just 
    donating your catch and taking advantage of a small deduction to a worthy
    cause.  

    /Ken

    re:6
    
    	Thanks for thinking about me and asking Ken. I may be in a position
    to get my boat as early as this coming year, though the following year
    will be more likely. I'm not sure how well catch and release works on
    fish brought in from 200'+. If I was lucky enough to have an excess
    catch, I'd like to give it to someone that would definitely use it.
    
    	I was not expecting this to be a lot of money. Possibly a few
    hundred dollars worth a year. Being that this is the season for giving
    only makes me think about what happens the rest of the year. 
    
    	The way the laws are going right now in the area of commercial fishing, 
    I'm not sure I'd want to even get involved in something like that, at 
    least not initially anyway. Sounds like the equipment I'd need would
    cost me as much as the boat would.
    
    	Ray

    What's wrong with giving for the sake of giving? Have we lost that
    sense of value too. Not just this time of year but all year. The
    soup kitchens will put good use of the excess fish you catch. You had
    the fun of catching them now have the enjoyment of sharing.
    
    BTW: I give my excess catch to senior citizens who live near my summer
    home in Maine. They love it and it feels good. By the end of the summer
    they have a freezer full.
    
    I generally a cynic but donating fish to charity for the tax write
    break is a bit much.
    Just my opinion
    Jim

re: .7    

>    	Thanks for thinking about me and asking Ken. 

    Well, I didn't ;-)    I just happened to be thinking the same thing
    about a month or 2 ago, probably 2 months I guess, around my last 
    deep sea trip of the year, and asked at the shelter where I dropped
    off some clothes (also a deduction).

re: .8

    I'd give for giving sake, and do, but why not also get a deduction
    from the IRS, charitable people that they are ?   The extra deduction
    would put me in a better position for future contributions.

    /Ken

    re:9
    
    	Well, thanks for posting the info anyway, and for making me feel
    like I'm not the only selfish SOB thinking along these lines ;-)
    
    re:8
    
	I kind of expected this at some point. If I were in it for the money 
    I'd bite the bullet, purchase the required equipment, and just get my 
    commercial license. That way I could sell my catch which would mean
    that I'd be donating zip. Not that I'd expect to get much this way
    either.
    
    	For the record, I'm certainly not trying to justify the boat by 
    deluding myself into thinking I'm going to get some significant amount of 
    money out of this. If in fact this turns out to be a legitimate tax 
    deduction, (IMHO) I see nothing wrong with taking it. If this diminishes 
    someone's "enjoyment of sharing", then don't do it. If someone wants
    to give more to Uncle Sam for "the sake of giving", by all means, knock
    yourself out. 
    
    	RAYJ

    >I generally a cynic but donating fish to charity for the tax write
    >break is a bit much.
    
     I don't think anyone's donating fish to charity for the tax write off.
    On the other hand, if you are donating and you are entitled to the
    write off, why wouldn't you use it? 

You won't catch enough cod to bother donating, the way things are these days
anyway.  So don't worry about it.

Tim

I took some freezer burn fish to the raptor center in Pueblo.  I did not expect 
anything other than to show my family the large birds and to provide the birds
with some meals.  They gave me a tax deduction slip in the amount of $200.
They were very happy and I said to myself "cool", as I was not expecting
this.  A note on this though, they can only take fish with the skin on it.
Without the skin the birds don't/won't eat it, they don't recongize it as food
without it.