From superyachts Turkish authorities backtrack on charter tax charge By Belinda Liversedge Comments Related News Barriers to yachting slowly being eroded in Brazil More Engel & Völkers sets up office in Bodrum More Aganlar Boatyard appoints Marine Trade Centre to promote new Turkish superyacht refit facility More A Turkish agent has uncovered the widespread misapplication of charter tax as applied to commercial yachts in Turkish waters, which has led to some yachts paying up to $1,500 in fees they did not owe. Begum Dogulu, owner of Begüm Yachting in Turkey and president of the Turkish Yacht Tourism Association (TYTA) discovered a spate of instances this summer where authorities were charging yachts for pick up and drop off of charter, and not just for chartering in Turkish waters. Only the latter is correct as per the rules, which state that commercial yachts pay a levy of $30/m. In a meeting at the headquarters of the Ministry of Maritime in Bodrum on 26 August, however, she succeeded in getting the government to put a stop to the overcharging. She also says that yachts that have already paid the erroneous tax are entitled to a refund. “The government agreed the tax did not match with any regulations. On 4 September I will hand an official letter to the TYTA, which will [let] the yachts get a refund for the pickup and drop off tax payments,” she said. “This will improve things for charters coming to Turkey and will be easier for the brokers to sell [charters in] Turkey. Refunds won’t happen in a day – it will take five or six months, but…we will announce the [procedure] and system soon, and it will happen for sure.”
Posted on: Wed, 04 Sep 2013 16:26:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015