Superyachts heading to Australia have Coalition slashes taxes

More foreign superyachts will sail to Australia after the Coalition moved to change GST rules applying to the craft.

taxation: The Coalition has succumbed to pressure from the superyacht lobby and will move to increase foreign superyacht charters in Australian waters.

Highly lucrative within the tourism industry, superyachts generate nearly $2 billion annually according to an AEC Group study. With the government’s proposed reforms, the industry estimates superyachts could contribute an extra $1.1bn to the Australian economy by 2021.

“If passed, the amendment to the Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Act 2012 will remove the prohibitive costs related to the importation of a vessel and reduce the required number of chartered voyages from five to one, delivering significant economic benefits for the tourism and marine sectors,” Trade Minister Steve Ciobo said.

At present, foreign-flagged owners of a $100 million super­yacht would pay $10m to sail in Australia, so yachties choose the cheaper waters of Fiji and New Zealand. Superyacht Australia chairman Barry Jenkins said the industry worked on the 10 per cent GST imposed on foreign ­superyacht owners for some time.