grumpygit
Well-known member
This is what’s ironic about the Greek cruising tax. They copied a faulty model. And for some yachts it will now be significantly cheaper in tax to cruise in Croatia than Greece.
Given the similarities with the 2018 Croatian cruising tax, the Greeks obviously looked at Croatia, decided that they would like a chunk of this seemingly easily collected tax revenue, and copied large parts of it. (But obviously didn’t look to deeply into how tax payers would make their payments!).
What they didn’t realise was that the Croatian tax was not working properly and the Croatians were in the process of reducing the tax on some of the length bands because larger yachts were leaving Croatia to cruise elsewhere.
Whilst I feel sympathy for those with boats >12m who may now change their Greek cruising plans, I will have no sympathy with the Greek govt when some of the cruising yachts move elsewhere and their overall revenue dips.
The introduction of this tax so far has only caused anxiety and concern especially amongst non Greeks with yachts in Greece. It’s a strange way to treat a significant source of income in the islands.
Garold
I have not sailed Croatia since 2009 spending around 6 months there over a couple of years.
If memory serves for a 15m yacht it cost me around €240 for the year. It cost circa €55 per night in an ACI marina and they where starting to charge for anchoring in bays or using laid moorings, circa €7-10 which the latter I believe has grown immensely. The cost of eating out and shopping was average to our base at that time being Italy, but more expensive than Greece.
Where I wholly believe Greece has a totally diabolical tax regime and would do so much better by adopting a low tax system which would generate more income, they don't and it's just not in their psyche.
This push for the tax was brought on by the Troika and their push on Greece to raise money, and so they did.
I do find it surprising that they are adopting this tax in election year, main stream and local, Tsipras needs all the votes he can muster to stay in power.
But how or why would the government care about a few boats leaving, it's a brand new tax and from day one and the first boat to pay, it's profit so to speak, and they have an income.
If you don't like it and who would, there's two options, stay and pay or move on, but do it all for the right reasons. The grass is not always greener and the tax will soon become tomorrows news.