Dear Frank,
Your letter regarding the tax situation in Spain has been forwarded to me by John Rule.
I have been dealing with tax on yachts both in Spain and in the EU for 20 years now so I have learnt a lot on the way!
In answer to your enquiries:
1. It is true that a person who is resident in Spain thereby creates a fiscal domicile in Spain and thereby has to comply with Spanish fiscal legislation as a Spanish national would. They have to declare their world-wide income and pay the corresponding tax and register their cars, yachts, and planes here also.
2. A non resident who owns property in Spain has to pay a Wealth Tax, which is in actual fact a tax on a fictional rental income on his property as it is not his primary residence. This is only payable on property owned in Spain - if his yacht is registered in the UK for instance, this asset can in no way be liable for wealth tax in Spain.
3. If a person spends more than 6 months per year in Spain, it is considered that they have spent a majority of a tax year here and thereby have fixed their fiscal domicile here and are thereby liable for Spanish tax etc and paragraph 1 applies.
It is important to understand that in Spain, apart from the VAT to be paid on a means of transport (e.g. yacht) there is an additional "matriculation tax" of 12% - we actually pay 28% tax here on cars and yachts! This matriculation tax is frequently confused with VAT or "wealth tax".
To confuse matters more - if a person is changing his residence to Spain, providing he has owned the car or yacht for at least 6 months prior to the change over, he can claim exemption from the matriculation tax - not many people are aware of this allowance.
My view is that it is the individual´s residency status which influences the tax situation - not the geographical situation of the yacht.
Also - to confuse matters more - the interpretation of the relevant fiscal and residency legislation changes drastically from Port to Port - I know for a fact that Malaga and the Costa del Sol enforce the law in a different way than here in Mallorca or Barcelona etc etc.
However I do not think that there is any real cause for concern - confusion yes!
If any of your members have any specific enquiry or would like to clarify an existing tax situation please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to assist.
The information above is a guide only. Professional advice should be taken as individual cases vary
Patricia Bullock
The Network Group
John,
Further to the Micron Extra Guarantee Card that you received at London International Boat Show 2004. I would like to clarify the following:
The guarantee card was made available to UK customers at a UK boat show,
Step 3 of the "3 steps to complete peace of mind", states that completed guarantee cards should be submitted to the Technical Manager at the UK address,
In the terms and conditions under "Making a Claim" point (c) states that the boat must be made available for an inspection in UK waters and
In the terms and conditions under "Making a Claim" point (g) states that replacement product will be sent to a UK address.
I apologise for any inconvenience caused to you or your readers but the points above clearly show this to be a UK promotion.
Regards,
Boris Webber
International Coatings Ltd, Southampton, UK
Dear John,
I am writing to you regarding some unfounded rumours that have been circulating in the local yachting community.
We categorically deny that we have been involved in any legal wrangles of any sort regarding the application of Permagard.
In fact we have a long list of satisfied customers which will no doubt grow with the introduction of our new formula which gives even longer and better (we are offering a guarantee) protection to paintwork and gel coat.
I will leave it to the imagination of your readers to work out who might have maliciously started these rumours with the knowledge that the Permagard treatment greatly lessens the need of costly re-finishing.
Michael Pass
Permagard Iberia S.l.
To whom it may concern.
This is to confirm that I Danny Boy of ´ShowTime´ have no connection, with the advertisement that Larry took (in the name of ShowTime) in The Islander.
Daniel Bazunu