In the first of a series of quarterly white papers providing an overview of the industry’s pertinent topics, The Superyacht Group and Master Yachts have published an inaugural report on VAT in Europe entitled, ‘A guide to operating within the fiscal confines of European cruising grounds: Summer 2014’.

As The Superyacht Owner reported in Issue 12, Europe’s rapidly evolving fiscal landscape has been presenting endless hoops for owners and operators alike to jump through. As has been well documented previously, France’s favourable treatment of the superyacht sector has been partially reined in under EU scrutiny, whilst the Spanish government appears to be awaking to the opportunities yachting can afford its economy, following extensive lobbying on the part of the industry.

Options for cruising too, are expanding beyond the traditional confines of the western Mediterranean. Superyacht owners are now, more than ever before looking further east and this has established areas such as Croatia, Montenegro and Greece as viable options for summer yachting activity. These jurisdictions though, have their own fiscal regimes that need to be understood before navigating or chartering.

This white paper has therefore, compiled the essential information for the coming season from each of Europe’s major cruising grounds from locally based legal and fiscal experts. Each expert has detailed the parameters for operating within their jurisdiction in an easily digestible format.

And, despite its seemingly turgid nature, it is clear that fiscal issues are of significant concern to large swathes of the industry, while there is seemingly a lack of understanding on their specifics. So with this in mind, The Superyacht Group and Master Yachts have made this invaluable paper available for free. So, to download the white paper, click here.