MED G5 TAX

[bootsy]

THANKS FOR THE REPLIES BUT I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE BALEARICS I AM TALKING ABOUT MAINLAND SPAIN THE VALENCIA AREA IN PARTICULAR, EVERYBODY THERE SEEMS TO THINK THAT IT IS AN ILLEGAL TAX AND ARE REFUSING TO PAY.

AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION THE MINUTE YOU BOOK INTO THE MARINAS ALONG THERE YOU ARE ASKED TO PAY BUT ONCE OUT OF COSTA BLANCA IT DOES NOT SEEM TO APPLY.

WOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR ANYBODY IN THE COSTA BLANCA AREA TO SHED SOME LIGHT ON THE SUBJECT.

THANKS

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[merlin]

I asked a similar question last year before I came down to the med in my boat. The replies were similarly mixed (a euphemism).

The pilot books and RYA booklet 'Going Foreign' have some information on the G5 tax - officially it's light dues. This is not a large amount and also not the question you really want to ask - it's a bit of a red herring. Many people do seem to confuse this with another, seriously important issue.

The question to ask is the one about temporary importation. This is the one with the real sting, and the one that people are starting to get concerned about, since it can mean a tax of the equivalent of around 12% of the value of your pride and joy, or at least your boat.

The problem, or opportunity, is that it isn't really consistently applied. I spoke to the RYA legal rep who wrote the guide and we went through the actual law together on the phone. The law was written in Spanish (a suitably vague language), and I guess is a Spanish interpretation of an EU ruling. From my hazy recollection of our conversation some time ago I recall...

Firstly, it seems that it is based upon the circumstances of the individual, not the boat. If you live in Spain for more then 6 months then you need to get temporary residency (standard EU law). I believe, but I'm not certain, that now means 6 months in any 12, rather than the straight 6 months it used to be. A quick weekend in Andorra no longer resets the clock!

If you have to get temporary residency then any assets you keep in Spain,such as car, boat etc have to be temporarily imported as well. This involves paying an import tax. It also involves re-registering the asset, car, boat or whatever, within Spain. The re-registration involves compliance with local legislation, from what I understood at the time - another pain.

From the various chats I've had with people on my way down here and notices I've seen around fora like this it seems to be applied with some discrection. I've spoken to many people who've lived in the same mainland Spain marina for years and have never even heard of it. Others have heard of it being applied, but usually where the individual concerned has been making a nuisance of themselves e.g vying with the locals for boat work (not paying tax etc to keep rates down), or just being a plain nuisance.

I have heard of some cases where it has been applied in the Balearics and the rationale was because the boat had been there for more than six months, but have no actual facts of the case. It may well be misapplied and it seems that individual authorities have some local interpretation. I don't know where the actual power for enforcement lies, whether it is local or national and I don't particularly want to spend however many months or years of good sailing time arguing the toss to reclaim my pride and joy.

My answer is simple - keep quiet and don't annoy the locals.

I recall reading something similar about France some time ago (could well have been in PBO), where a new law was passed that basically allowed visiting yachts to be charged hefty light dues, I think it was. The article said that so many yachts (and trade/toruist francs/euros) left the marinas that the law was never enforced. Typically continental though, neither was it repealed!

I hope that some of this is helpful. Did you have any particular concern, or was it just a general query?


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