Spanish tax

I am sure I saw a post where some boat owners took their boats out of the country for a couple of days, got a receipt for a marina or fuel to show they were no longer in Spain and returned for another year. I may be confusing two issues...
I suspect people who did that were themselves confused. As far as I know, tricks like that don't work. Or is this a Greece-Turkey thing?
 
Sorry for the slight hijack Charlie but I believe we wanted the same thing. Thank you all for your replies from me as well.

Just one thing confuses me. I am sure I saw a post where some boat owners took their boats out of the country for a couple of days, got a receipt for a marina or fuel to show they were no longer in Spain and returned for another year. I may be confusing two issues...

As far as Spanish tax on your boat is concerned, it is YOUR presence in the country for more than 183 days in any year that drives the tax not the boats presence. So taking the boat out of the country for a few days will make no difference to the situation. The boat can remain in Spain for as long as you care to leave it there and will not incurr any tax.

There are no fines for overstaying the 183 limit in itself. You can be fined for not paying the matriculation tax within certain time limits - 30 days seems to spring to mind - but that is a separate issue.
 
Sorry for the slight hijack Charlie but I believe we wanted the same thing. Thank you all for your replies from me as well.

Just one thing confuses me. I am sure I saw a post where some boat owners took their boats out of the country for a couple of days, got a receipt for a marina or fuel to show they were no longer in Spain and returned for another year. I may be confusing two issues...
It would be a useful way of getting some kind of 'proof' that you have only just entered the country if you were trying to fool officials into believing you had only just arrived, but other than that it makes no difference - it does not reset the clock.
 
There are no fines for <people> overstaying the 183 limit in itself. You can be fined for not paying the matriculation tax within certain time limits - 30 days seems to spring to mind - but that is a separate issue.
If you become tax resident, you then have to declare your "means of transport" owned and based in Spain within 30 days. Your boat/car will then become subject to local charges and regulations. If you don't declare within the time limit, then the boat will become liable to a "pollution" tax (often called a matriculation tax, but in fact, the boat/car does not have to be re-registered - "matriculated" - under EU regs)

I understand that boats owned by Spanish tax residents don't necessarily have to be registered in Spain if the boats spend more than a certain amount of time in other countries. This may be the reason behind people obtaining proof the boats have been elsewhere.

This whole field of legislation about the (supposedly) free movement of goods (means of transport in this case) around the EU is still a mess. The EU permits such movement, but individual countries have not unified their taxation and equipment carriage regulations, so these are still being used as a means of creating preference for locally registered craft/cars/lorries/planes etc - while keeping Johnny Foreigner out.

"Our regulations promote safety in our conditions . . . " is the argument. The counter argument is "rules have to be policed by employees . . . more rules mean more employment . . . "

And votes for governments which create the extra employment, since they carefully don't mention the tax rises/borrowing needed from the majority to pay for the privileged extra few employees/voters.

Apologies, Fred Drift speaking there . . .
 
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Even if at the end of the day you do not end up out of pocket (because of the double tax agreement), you will still be required to file tax returns with both countries and then go through "the system"...

...come to my house and if you have not gone after a week you will be charged rent.

1. Of course you're right, and who wants the hassle? But still much better than being out of pocket. Incidentally, am I right in assuming that as a Channel Island resident (?) you've far less comprehensive treaty protection than a UK resident. I certainly have from IoM.

2. A most kind offer. What's the address? :D
 
That was certainly our experience, officials did check out yachts in Almerimar in the winter of 2010/2011 but they were only interested in those who had a year long contract and who had not registered. For those of us transitting, however slowly, they did not seem in the least interested with.

That about sums it up. No long term contract, no problems. We've been in and out of Spain for the last 6 years and although we've been boarded for papers have never been asked how long we stay there, just asked for name of last port and next one. In the last few weeks, we've been in Portugal, Spain, Morocco and Gib twice, no problems anywhere.
 
Sorry for the slight hijack Charlie but I believe we wanted the same thing. Thank you all for your replies from me as well.

Just one thing confuses me. I am sure I saw a post where some boat owners took their boats out of the country for a couple of days, got a receipt for a marina or fuel to show they were no longer in Spain and returned for another year. I may be confusing two issues...

No problem nostrodamus, everyday is a school day.... See you in the med in winter!

Charlie.
 
1. Of course you're right, and who wants the hassle? But still much better than being out of pocket. Incidentally, am I right in assuming that as a Channel Island resident (?) you've far less comprehensive treaty protection than a UK resident. I certainly have from IoM.

Only resident in one of the Islands. the best one :) Not sure what you mean by "treaty protection" - for tax we have been collecting double taxation agreements like they are going out of fashion for the last few years. I dunno if all of Europe yet covered, but certainly that will be the goal. Of course with Double Tax Treaties comes more exchange of information.......

For Passport stuff, I am the official holder of a British Passport - 2nd Class :cool: stamped inside "no right to live or work in the EU" (from memory). I think the UK is ok, at the moment anyway......as least until we go independent and then it will be Passport to Pimlico time :(..........which strange as it may seem for someone who happily says "Jersey by the Grace of God - British for administrative conveniance" :D (leaving aside that I am on the Atheist wing of goddism) I am dead set against - not so much on the principle (hey, I'm a Jerseyman - am willing to p/x me Granny. and she's long dead :p) but because the independence "movement" (or threat?) is coming not from the people but from our lords and masters. The horror is that we will be ruled by our own Coalition - of Kiddy Fiddlers, Spivs and Little Englanders :mad: The present lot is bad enough :rolleyes:

Anyway, what was the topic about??! :):)




2. A most kind offer. What's the address? :D

It's easy to find - just look out for the sign:-

No Blacks
No Dogs
No Guernseymen :D
 
We recently had to pay a 10 euro per day tax at Alicante Marina because we were leaving the boat for longer than 2 weeks.
 
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