The Greek Marina Association (GMA) reports numerous departures of foreign-owned vessels, after new taxes on yachts were introduced on January 1.
According to GMA data, foreign ship owners, who are mostly citizens of Great Britain, Germany, Italy, France and Austria, move their ships to Montenegro, Croatia and Turkey.
International organizations and associations operating in the maritime tourism sector have warned their members about the new levies introduced by Greece, so some of them have also announced complaints to the institutions of the European Union due to new tax burdens, local media report.
Ship owners were also upset by the possibility that local customs and tax authorities could detain their vessels if they could not pay additional taxes.
In their comments on the new taxes, boat owners state that this development of the situation will mean a loss of income for the local community, marinas and the whole of Greece.
Italy is cited as an example, which also increased taxes on yachts in 2012, resulting in the departure of 30.000 vessels from Italian marinas. In the end, the Italian government relented and exempted the foreign owners from paying additional levies.
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