Italian berthing tax -

tudorsailor

tudorsailor

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I have learned that Italy has a bill to introduce a tax on visiting yachts from May 2012.
Here is what I found on the mobo site here

a) euro 5 per le unità con scafo di lunghezza da 10,01 metri a 12 metri;
b) euro 8 per le unità con scafo di lunghezza da 12,01 metri a 14 metri;
c) euro 10 per le unità con scafo di lunghezza da 14,01 a 17 metri;
d) euro 30 per le unità con scafo di lunghezza da 17,01 a24 metri;
e) euro 90 per le unità con scafo di lunghezza da 24,01 a 34 metri;
f) euro 207 per le unità con scafo di lunghezza da 34,01 a 44 metri;
g) euro 372 per le unità con scafo di lunghezza da 44,01 a 54 metri;
h) euro 521 per le unità con scafo di lunghezza da 54,01 a 64 metri;
i) euro 703 per le unità con scafo di lunghezza superiore a 64 metri.

The tax is applied whether in a marina or anchoring and the amount is per day! Not sure how the tax is collecting if your are at anchor

Only good thing is that sailing vessels get a 50% discount


Looks like we may not be heading for Rome next winter - but it we do there should be lots of space!

TudorSailor
 
Recent thread on this here:
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=295890

It's scarier than you think, since it seems to be more a 'being there' than a berthing tax. There is natural concern about the potential hefty fines involved, situation with vessels on passage through Italian waters (wouldn't that make it a tax on movement...very un-EU?), arbitrary and expensive collection process, etc, etc
 
For most visitors this is a non issue. The amounts are small in relation to berthing costs and only really start to bite when the boat is over 24m. It is a wealth tax aimed at trying to claw back some tax from people who habitually avoid paying personal taxes.

It will be easy to collect from visitors in marinas as it is likely to be incorporated in berthing charges - probably less easy from boats at anchor. It is not unlike the room tax that is levied on hotels in many countries and is unlikely to have any significant negative impact on tourism - except that it may encourage owners of large mobos to consider moving their boats eleswhere. However, the number of places they can go to that does not have taxes of some sort gets less and less each year.
 
I don't see how this can be legal. I am sure that they can tax all yachts but not visiting yachts. It will need to be challenged.
 
Seven Spades said:
I don't see how this can be legal. I am sure that they can tax all yachts but not visiting yachts. It will need to be challenged.
Click to expand...

They are proposing to tax all boats in Italian waters - including visitors.

The main aim of the tax is to try and increase tax revenues from individuals by taxing their assets rather than their income. Very similar to the tax in Greece - already in law but not yet implemented. The only difference is that the greek tax is an annual tax - they already have (in theory) a daily tax on all boats that use marinas and town quays.
 
As long as it applies to all boats I am sure it is legal. But if it only applied either yachts of other nations then I am sure it would not be. Why don't they introduce a daily charge for visiting cars?
 
Seven Spades said:
As long as it applies to all boats I am sure it is legal. But if it only applied either yachts of other nations then I am sure it would not be. Why don't they introduce a daily charge for visiting cars?
Click to expand...

This is where "equal treatment" penalises some more than others. The target for the tax (as in Greece) is their own residents who avoid paying tax on their income, but are able to fund expensive assets like boats. However to make the tax legal they have to apply it to everybody who has that asset in Italy, whether they are liable to income taxes in Italy or not.
 
This 'Luxury Tax' extends further than just Maritime, it also applies to Aviation.

I am following this subject very closely as it affects me in my day to day businesses, I operate mainly in Aviation and Italy is a regular visitation point for me, I have whilst discussing this with Aviators from Italy already found a costsaving way to evade these charges. However the following is what was released as proposed charging:
Italy takes aim with its foot with new aviation 'luxury' tax

Italy has introduced a new 'luxury tax' on private aircraft which will have a serious impact on the aviation industry and is likely to cost the country more than it brings in in revenue. The new tax will be levied on a sliding scale from €1.5 per kilogram per year for aircraft under 1,000 kgs to €7.55 per kg for aircraft over 10,000 kg, with helicopters paying double. While the tax will further depress aircraft ownership in Italy, it could affect every pilot in Europe because it applies to any private aircraft, of any nationality, which remains on Italian territory for 48 hours or more. Not only does that make visiting Italy expensive, but even passing through the country becomes risky. A weather delay, a mechanical problem, or industrial action by ATC could land the transiting pilot with a tax bill running into thousands of euros.
Massimo Levy of AOPA Italy says: "It looks like they really want to put an end GA in this country. Can you imagine an English tourist with a private plane being obliged to pay €3,500 'luxury tax' at the end of his long weekend in Italy? Or the American businessman arriving with his Citation remaining for more than two days?
"What will happen now to Italian GA? I have no idea. It looks like we really might have reached the end of the road."
AOPA Italy has spoken with a number of politicians making it clear that while aircraft owners should contribute at what is seen to be a time of national emergency, the levels of tax were so excessive that they would cripple the industry and therefore produce less revenue than they would if they were set at more sensible levels. Political promises of alleviation have come to nothing.
The new taxes, imposed under a decree named 'Save Italy' which also raises the pension age by five years, hit almost everything but are particularly heavy on items such as cars over 250 hp, boats more than 10 metres long, and all aircraft. While boats and cars enjoy a discount on the basis of the age – after 20 years a boat pays only 50% of the tax and a car does not pay at all – aircraft pay the full amount indefinitely.
Airlines, charter and aerial work operators are exempt from the tax, as are government, police and military aircraft. Others must pay annually:
Up to 1,000 kg MTOW €1.50 per kg
Up to 2,000 kg MTOW €2.50 per kg
Up to 4,000 kg MTOW €4.25 per kg
Up to 6,000 kg MTOW €5.75 per kg
Up to 8,000 kg MTOW €6.65 per kg
Up to 10,000 kg MTOW €7.10 per kg
Over 10,000 kg MTOW €7.55 per kg
Helicopters must conform to this weight scale but pay double the amounts. Gliders, motorgliders, gyroplanes and balloons will pay a fixed €450 per year.
The application of these tax rates to foreign aircraft will discourage aerial tourism, but Massimo Levy wonders whether anyone will really notice. "Italy already extends poor hospitality to foreign GA airplanes, with all its airspace and airport regulations and charges," he says, "so possibly no-one will notice that the trade has all gone, unless something happens like a foreigner refusing to pay and the authorities impounding an aircraft. Something like this would make a lot of bad publicity to the country.
"Perhaps AOPA members will consider writing to the Italian embassy in their respective countries pointing out that Italy will lose more than it gains by this."

Another nail in the coffin is: Any Vehicle over 250hp will also incur a 'luxury tax' so beware of the border controls as they are proposing to collect the taxes on entry or random checks.


Seven Spades said:
As long as it applies to all boats I am sure it is legal. But if it only applied either yachts of other nations then I am sure it would not be. Why don't they introduce a daily charge for visiting cars?
Click to expand...
 
"Why don't they introduce a daily charge for visiting cars?"
You might make the same accusation of the Croatians: they charge not only for sailing in their country and for the use of their lights, but even on the basis of how many berths you have and their theoretical use.

There are 42,000 boats in Italy registered to people declaring less than €20,000 (or was it €30,000?) pa. If it's registered, it's over 10.5 metres or a mono over x hp. So, although like most taxes, it's unfair, I can only say that Italians had it coming it them.
 
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As a Commercial Ship Manager we have to pay Italian Anchorage Dues for any of our vessels which use Italian Waters (up to 12 nm offshore), in the same way our ships when in UK waters have to pay UK Light Dues which goes to Trinity House for the upkeep of the lights.

With the Italian fees they are based on a vessels Reg Tons, and you either pay for a months use or for 12 months (which costs the same as two months).
 
Light dues is different from tthis tax. As you say, many countries impose light duties on commercial shipping, but few extend it to pleasure boats because of the difficulties in collection. Portugal does - on both resident and visitors, but in most countries navigation aids are funded either by commercial shipping or out of general taxation.

This is a clear asset tax in just the same way as property taxes, not directly connected with funding any specific service.
 
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