10% vat on transit berth? Yes, but only until December

The Council of Ministers, at the proposal of President Renzi and Infrastructure and Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi, approved the so-called Sblocca Italia decree on August 29, 2014. Among the contents of the decree, there is one that is of particular interest to boaters: for these last months of 2014 only, the government equates Marina Resorts with open-air accommodations. In “facilities organized for tourists to stop and stay overnight inside their units at the mooring,” 10% VAT may be applied, as has always worked at other segments of tourism. Beware, however: the relief will be applied to transit moorings. As of yet, there is no text of the rule (sic!), so we cannot yet quantify the duration of transit. On owned berths, VAT will always be at 22%.

THE RECOVERY OF OUTRAGED TOURISTS
Some regions, such as Liguria, Emilia-Romagna and Friuli-Venezia Giulia had already found and applied the solution, equating the water areas of tourist landings with the areas of campgrounds through regional regulations. Now, at last, these regulations are also perceived at the national level, and they should result in a decrease in transit berth fees and the consequent return among our own docks of tourists who have preferred to spend their vacations abroad away from expensive berths and controls at sea.

LET’S HOPE IT’S NOT A “METEOR” STANDARD
Why is the conditional use appropriate? As we mentioned earlier, the rule approved by the government, wanted by Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Maurizio Lupi with the collaboration of the minister with delegated powers to Tourism Dario Franceschini, found its place in a measure that comes at the end of the season and is valid only for 2014 (its practical usefulness is questionable, past the summer!)., while waiting for the Stability Law to find the necessary resources to make it stable. And hopefully it will happen: a study commissioned from the Nautical Observatory shows that the increased tax revenue from the parking of these units would in the near future be up to six times greater than the cost of the lower VAT revenues determined in the immediate future.