The Islander received the following email on Friday 20th September.
Dear all,
Please be informed that the bill regulating (among other issues) the Matriculation tax exemption for boats of any length affected to a charter activity has been approved today by the Treasury Commission of the Spanish Congress.
In this regard, please be informed that the different parliamentary groups filed 4 amendments in relation to the article which establishes the mentioned exemption but only 2 of these amendments requested the removal of the proposed exemption. These 2 amendments were filed by the “Izquierda Plural” Group and by the Socialist Group. The reasons invoked by these parliamentary groups were:
- The need to compensate environmental impact derived from this kind of activities.
- The role of the matriculation tax in relation to the more polluting vehicles.
- This exemption is not ethic, considering the current economic situation of Spain.
- This exemption only benefits privileged classes.
We consider that these arguments are quite demagogic and do not take into account the direct and indirect positive effects in the economy from a global point of view, i.e. direct and indirect employment, economic activity, wealth, income, deseasonalization and deconcentration of the traditional tourism, etc., especially in tourist areas like the Balearic Islands and Spanish coast in general.
Despite the above, these 2 amendments filed by “Izquierda Plural” Group and by the Socialist Group were rejected by the Treasury Commission, therefore the bill has been dispatched from the Spanish Congress to the Senate including the registration tax exemption exactly in the same terms as we initially anounced.
It is expected that the Senate will receive the approved bill tomorrow. As the chosen bill procedure is urgent, the Senate has a maximum period of 20 days for the whole proceeding. In this sense, the bill is expected to be approved (the governing party –Partido Popular- has absolute majority in the Senate) should be approved by the Senate approximately next October 10th . Once the Law Proposal is approved, the text will be published in the State Official Gazette (BOE) and, as we indicated in previous emails, the Law will enter into force from the following day of its publication in the BOE. Consequently, we estimate that the Law will come into force about the third week of October.
I will keep you informed on the progress in the following weeks,
Very best regards.
Miguel Ángel Serra Guasch
Abogado y Economista
GARRIGUES
+34 971 213 484
+34 971 213 150
Avda. Conde de Sallent, 23-3º-C
07003 Palma de Mallorca
www.garrigues.com
