Brooklyn's Progress
February/March 2007

BY KENNETH CHOW, CRUISE SPECIALIST, CRUISE PLANNERS

Business owners have an opportunity to reduce their taxes as domestic cruising expanded in the United States. Under IRS rules, a participant is allowed to deduct up to $2,000 per year for cruising with an American-flagged registered ship doing a domestic itinerary. Please speak to your accountant regarding this rule.

Since the Norwegian Cruise Line America began their 7-night Hawaiian Island cruise in 2004 with the Pride of Aloha, it was the first time in nearly fifty years a large passenger cruise ship was being built and put in service. NCL America was granted special exemption from the American government to hire at least ninety percent of American crew in order to begin service since their ships were foreign-built.

Cruising provides more value, relaxation, and enjoyment to business owners because transportation, accommodations, three meals per day, shipboard activities, and entertainment, supervised children’s programs, and meeting rooms with audio/visual equipment are included in the cruise fare. Cruising controls company’s expenses, saves time for planning an event, and as an incentive for employees to enjoy and relax their vacation after a year of a job well done.

Cruise Planners is an award-winning national agency with over 680 local offices in the country specializing in cruises and tours. Cruise Planners offers dedicated personal service with no service fees. For more information, call 1-877-728-9695, send an email to kchow@cruiseplanners.com or visit http://www.cheapcruisesforsale.com/.