Dear Islander,
Ah well, here we go again with false papers; as you can see from the front page story, this time from Paraguay!
‘Gunter H.’, as the Spanish and Paraguyan newspapers have referred to him, a locally based German architect, would have been better advised to go to the German or Spanish authorities. Only he knows why he shelled out 200,000 Ptas. to Paraguayan consul, Lilia Romero (aka Lilita) who incidentally did not have the power to issue yacht registrations nor captains’ certificates legal or illegal.
The situation following the recent introduction of the new port taxes remains unclear.
The rates are fixed and they can be applied retrospectively by law.
However their ‘interpretation’ by the various marinas that come under the ‘Puertos de Estado’ authority (to remind you again locally are, Palma, Alcudia, Mahon, Ibiza and La Savina) varies.
Having spoken to an authoritative source it appears that some marinas are sticking to the letter of the law whilst others feel that they should soften the blow to their customer and absorb (for the time being) the initial impact of some of these taxes.
One club is even offering a generous 30% discount for prompt payment.
An important meeting was held earlier this month to thrash things out between the head honchos of the Spanish port authorities and marina operators.SEE NEWS SECTION
The hot topic at this, an annual symposium for Spanish marina operators, held in Gijon on the 6th & 7th of May, was the impact of these new taxes.
I hope to be able to get the results of these discussions to you in the next issue.
What is obvious is that the marina operators are very much against any more financial pressure on yachtsmen.
My source also emphasised that Juame Matas, and the local government, unlike their predecessors, very much appreciate the economic significance of the local marine industry and will endeavour to support it in any way they can.
Even the new president of the Balearic ports authority, Joan Verger, is on record stating that the 7,551 moorings that come under his authority are not enough to satisfy demand.
He added that he cannot contemplate the construction of new marinas but by optimising the current space available it would be possible to create more moorings.
On this subject one should expect a plan, backed by the government, to increase the number of berths available in the Balearics very soon.
,b>Regards,
John Rule