Marine Tax

[Mai Krap]

Does anyone have the details of the removel of marine taxes? I was told you could now import a boat with no tax, I want to know if this includes other marine products like moters and sailboat rigging and stuff of this nature. Were boats mentioned in the new free trade agreements with Austrailia?

[firstproducer]

I just cut and paste this for you, no idea if its includes motors, watermakers and rigging though, but i am considering puting up a website with a forum on sailing.

Customs duty dropped to zero

from the Phuket Gazette

PHUKET TOWN: Phuket's marine leisure industry broke out the Champagne today as the government finally dropped the customs duty on imported boats to zero, following publication of the change to the tax law in the Royal Gazette yesterday.

Theera Paesathitthavorn, Deputy Chief of the Phuket Customs Office Region 5, told the Phuket Gazette today that he anticipates an increase in the number of yacht arrivals in Phuket as a result.

Until the announcement, boats could be brought into Thai waters and stay for up to 12 months without the owner paying any taxes. But any boat kept here longer than a year was liable for duty and taxes totaling 47% of its value.

This in itself was an improvement on the taxes levied at the height of Thailand's austerity drive, under the Democrat government, when total imposts came to around 230% of the value of the boat.

Under the new regime, boats may still be kept in Thai waters for up to six months without having to be imported.

Yachts that are imported will still incur excise tax, Interior Ministry tax and VAT totaling about 13% of the value of the boat.

A source at the Phuket Provincial Excise Office said that the office was still waiting for a Ministry announcement on the reduction of yacht excise tax, currently 5%, to zero.

A spokesperson for the Excise Department in Bangkok told the Gazette that the department needed more time to consider the law.

The dropping of customs duty on yachts came after lengthy lobbying by the Marine Alliance of Thailand (MAT). The MAT argued that the country would benefit more from the income attracted by a thriving yachting industry than it would from trying to tax yachts heavily.

Jan Jacobs, director of yacht chartering, management and brokerage company Thai Marine Leisure, and a member of the MAT, said, "We're delighted. It was sometimes difficult to believe it was going to happen. We hope this will boost the marine industry in Phuket big time.

"It will help us to increase the charter fleet immediately and bring more wealthy tourists to Phuket."

Among the first to bring in boats and register them under the Thai flag will be yacht charter company Sunsail, which is expected to import 10 yachts by the end of the week to replace its aging fleet of rental boats.

Ironically, the introduction of the zero duty comes just a day after the Chalong Tambon Administration Organization conceded that it was once more imposing its much-reviled "Phuket waters fee" on all yachts coming to the island.

The impost is widely seen as going against everything the government has been doing to encourage of the growth of the leisure sailing industry in Phuket.

[Mai Krap]

Thanx for the quick response, what is the phuket waters fee? A guy on holiday said there were boats coming from singapore and hong kong to be flagged here. This brings up the question that a falang cannot hold leagle title to land, can one hold leagle title to a Thai flagged boat? Just wondering how many guys on this forum boats or sailboats?

[firstproducer]

It all depends on your yacht and I suspect your approach will be from the south or west so your first anchor should be Ao Chalong.

The bay it’s quite shallow, but sheltered and there is ample sailing-related services on shore, plus the building at the jetty housing immigration, customs and harbour master plus a bar to quench that salty thirst.

Phuket Town is about 10km away and there is a bike and car hire not too far. I think moorings is about 300Bht/day

Anchorage is well off shore though due to the shallow bay and try and go north of the jetty to avoid ferry traffic there is 4-7 meters in good holding mud, but dinghy access is poor to the beach and impossible during spring tides so you must use the jetty.

The bay can becomes and some swell can be experienced during the southwest monsoon, but your biggest worry is lightly anchored speedboats dragging onto you in a storm.

3 main marinas on the island but I would recommend Laem Phrao just north of the Yacht Haven Marina. It is probably better if you have anything over 50ft it is in a sheltered channel between Phuket and the mainland with good holding in mud with all-tide access. You won't find the many services found at Ao Chalong but lots of cheap workshops if you need some fabrication or repairs but you will need a vehicle to go anywhere.

I think there is a car and bike hire at the Yach Haven plus a couple of bars, and do try the red crabs on sale locally.

I am informed that theft is unheard of there so it’s a good choice if you want to leave a yacht for long periods unattended. The channel seldom develops a chop and has exceptionally easy dinghy access to shore. Mooring fees less than Chalong I believe.

As to yacht ownership and a Thai flag; I think they are encouraging it, so come to Phuket and think of the tax saving on your dream 60ft deck saloon

Feel free to im me if you need any further information

regards

[zapatero]

... , but i am considering puting up a website with a forum on sailing.

Good on you FP -- do it!!!

[walker]

My wife was initially thrilled to see your posting, but ultimately disappointed. We are moving to Thailand permanently this month, and she was hoping that the "marine tax" would apply to me, although, technically, I'm only an ex-marine. She said that she got her hopes up that the tax would be prohibitive & that I'd have to stay stateside and just send her money.

[Mai Krap]

Be careful what you wish for. Nobody has thought of that kind of MARINE tax yet. Im suprised we dont have a RETIRED MILITERY tax here.