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Deleted User YDKXO
Guest
My boat has now had a 'discrete precincto' placed on it in Palma and within 2 weeks apparently, I will know whether I will have to pay 12% matriculation tax on it. I have been informed that the local customs authorities supported by the Guardia Civile are inspecting every British and German flagged vessel in the Balearics that is currently offered for charter or has ever been offered for charter in the past. Unfortunately, because my boat has a local charter licence, and despite the fact that I have only done a very small number of charter days, it's been identified for inspection
My local charter co has now taken advice from a local lawyor and the letter of the law regarding matriculation tax is this. If a boat is offered for charter in the Balearics, it must have a local charter licence. If it has a local charter licence it is assesseable for matriculation tax. Providing the waterline length (actually it's equivalent to what we know as the plimsoll line length) is less than 15m (my boat just complies), then the boat is not liable for matriculation tax BUT you have to have an exemption certificate to prove it. And here is the key point. Even if your boat has an exemption certificate, then under the law, the owner is NOT allowed to use the boat for private use whatsoever and because of the system of filling out forms whenever a boat visits another port or marina, the authorities can easily find out whether a boat has been cruised for private use. So, to sum up, if a charter boat has an exemption certificate but has been cruised privately, or it doesn't have an exemption certificate when it should have or it has a waterline length more than 15m, it will be assessed for matriculation tax. This affects many boats in the Balearics, probably hundreds if not thousands because there are many owners like me who offer their boats for charter in an attempt to defray some of the exhorbitant costs of keeping a boat there
A word of warning for anyone considering doing a runner. My charter co has had to sign a guarantee that they will not allow owners to remove their boats from their home port whilst they are under investigation and, even if owners do make a break for it, the infamous Guardia Civile and their patrol boats are waiting for them. By the way, during this purge, a couple of large mobos in Portals have had their VAT status as well as their matriculation tax status checked
The feeling on the islands is that this will decimate the Spanish charter industry in particular and affect the Spanish boat industry in general. After all, who wants to moor their boat in Spain when they'll be assessed for matriculation tax if they do even the smallest amount of charter. The fact that a couple of boats have apparently had their VAT status examined is also a worry as many boats in the Med have ownership structures designed to reduce VAT paid which, whilst being legal, might be examined by the authorities so why risk that by mooring in Spain at all
My local charter co has now taken advice from a local lawyor and the letter of the law regarding matriculation tax is this. If a boat is offered for charter in the Balearics, it must have a local charter licence. If it has a local charter licence it is assesseable for matriculation tax. Providing the waterline length (actually it's equivalent to what we know as the plimsoll line length) is less than 15m (my boat just complies), then the boat is not liable for matriculation tax BUT you have to have an exemption certificate to prove it. And here is the key point. Even if your boat has an exemption certificate, then under the law, the owner is NOT allowed to use the boat for private use whatsoever and because of the system of filling out forms whenever a boat visits another port or marina, the authorities can easily find out whether a boat has been cruised for private use. So, to sum up, if a charter boat has an exemption certificate but has been cruised privately, or it doesn't have an exemption certificate when it should have or it has a waterline length more than 15m, it will be assessed for matriculation tax. This affects many boats in the Balearics, probably hundreds if not thousands because there are many owners like me who offer their boats for charter in an attempt to defray some of the exhorbitant costs of keeping a boat there
A word of warning for anyone considering doing a runner. My charter co has had to sign a guarantee that they will not allow owners to remove their boats from their home port whilst they are under investigation and, even if owners do make a break for it, the infamous Guardia Civile and their patrol boats are waiting for them. By the way, during this purge, a couple of large mobos in Portals have had their VAT status as well as their matriculation tax status checked
The feeling on the islands is that this will decimate the Spanish charter industry in particular and affect the Spanish boat industry in general. After all, who wants to moor their boat in Spain when they'll be assessed for matriculation tax if they do even the smallest amount of charter. The fact that a couple of boats have apparently had their VAT status examined is also a worry as many boats in the Med have ownership structures designed to reduce VAT paid which, whilst being legal, might be examined by the authorities so why risk that by mooring in Spain at all
