Roll-back of boat tax good news for non-Italian boat owners

by Lee Mylchreest on 16 Aug 2013 Good news for non-Italian boat owners, who fled Italy in droves when the Italian Government (the previous one) put a tax on new boats.

The tax will longer be applicable to yacht owners who are not Italian residents, and the new measures are part of a range of measures meant to reinvigorate the Italian economy.

On the sixth of December 2011 the then newly appointed Italian government issued a legislative decree (No.201) proposing new tax revenues from luxury assets.

This came as part of a series of well documented austerity measures aimed at improving Italy’s bleak economic outlook and was subsequently signed into law on the 22nd of December 2011 (No. 214) having been approved by the Italian parliament and senate.

Italian yachting associations roundly condemned the legislation underlining that due to competition the tax would simply result in driving yachts away, thus damaging - not helping - the Italian economy.

After an intense period of lobbying, an amendment put forward to the government in an attempt to remodel the tax into one based on Italian ownership has just been accepted and signed.

The tax as amended will only be applicable to private yachts that are owned by any subject with a permanent establishment or residency in Italy.

Yachts will be subject to an annual tax payable within the first of May each year, as follows:

vessels between 10,01 and 12 metres 800 Euros
vessels between 12,01 and 14 metres 1,160 Euros
vessels between 14,01 and 17 metres 1,740 Euros
vessels between 17,01 and 24 metres 2,600 Euros
vessels between 24,01 and 34 metres 4,400 Euros
vessels between 34,01 and 44 metres 7,800 Euros
vessels between 44,01 and 54 metres 12,500 Euros
vessels between 54,01 and 64 metres 16,000 Euros
vessels over 64,01 metres 25,000 Euros

(The above measurements are intended as overall length in accordance with EN/ISO/DIS 8666 Small Craft Principal Data.)