The overall economic benefit of the industry must be considered, says Richard Donkin.
The Spanish yacht charter industry has been all but destroyed by the matriculation tax, a tax on registration of yachts over eight metres that must be paid in addition to VAT.
With Spanish VAT at 18 per cent and matriculation tax at 12 per cent this means buyers of moderate to large Spanish yachts face a surcharge of nearly a third of the retail price.
But in collecting the tax, the Balearics lost out on a potential income of €600m through extra traffic, marina revenue, and shop, restaurant
and other retail spending that would have been generated by visitors on charter boats that have been deterred from operating in Spanish waters.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/7a122c44-a47b-11e1-84b1-00144feabdc0.pdf

www.ft.com/yachting-marinas-2012. (Financial Times Special Report, 24 May 2012)