International Boat Industry – August-September 2019

International Marine News HEADLINES

ibinews.comibinews.com International Boat Industry | AUGUST–SEPTEMBER 2019 9

EU to crack down on yachting ‘tax breaks’

EUROPE The European Union

Commission (EUC), in its

ongoing mission to rid the

EU of “unfair tax avoidance

practices,” is taking steps to

end illegal tax breaks in the

yacht industries of Italy and

Cyprus.

A statement for the EUC

claims that both countries

failed to levy the correct

amount of VAT on the

leasing of yachts, while the

Commission further referred

Italy to the EU Court of Justice

for its failure to address an

illegal system of exemptions

for fuel used for charter yachts

plying EU waters.

In its referral to the court,

the EUC states: “In breach of

EU rules, Italy allows chartered

pleasure crafts, such as yachts,

to qualify as ‘commercial’ even

if they are for personal use.

This situation may allow them

to benefit from excise duty

exemption on fuel used to

power their engines.”

The EUC issued its opinion

on the VAT tax, warning the

two countries that without

corrective action in two

months, the Commission will

be referring the two countries

for violations before the EU

Court of Justice.

“Cyprus and Italy have

established VAT rules according

to which the larger the boat is,

the less the lease is estimated

to take place in EU waters. As

a consequence, the applicable

VAT base can be substantially

reduced,” the statement reads.

Wider Yachts acquired

ITALY Wider Yachts, the

Italian brand owned by the

Hong Kong-listed Genting

HK group, has been acquired

by a trio of businesses for an

undisclosed price.

The acquisition trio

comprises the Monegasque

group Nautical Hybrid Tech,

headed by Marcello Maggi; the

Swiss-headquartered Zepter

Group; and Italian investment

firm Hopafi Holding Srl. The

three have purchased the entire

ownership of the company.

In a statement, the three

companies said that the signing

marked “the beginning of a new

era for Wider and exciting news

would be unveiled in the near

future.”

Under the purchase deal,

Wider will be led by Marcello

Maggi, a prominent player in

the nautical industry for more

than 30 years, and the company

will boost its leadership in

’green energy’ yachting.

“The new group of investors

will contribute to accelerate

the company growth and

eventually list it in the stock

exchange within three years,”

the statement adds.

The last news from Wider

was in May 2019 when the

Wider 165 M/Y Cecilia picked up

a World Superyacht Award in

the ‘displacement motoryacht

between 300 and 499GT –

48m and above’ category.

There had been no news of

further projects since the

announcement of a Wider 130

being in development in 2017.

As part of the acquisition,

Marcello Maggi has been

appointed president and sales

& marketing director, and will

be based in the Monaco office.

Born in Ancona, but living for

more than 20 years in Monte

Carlo, he has always been an

ambassador of Italian shipyards,

strategically developing

companies like ISA, which he

co-founded in 2001, and CRN.

Under the deal, Wider will

be focusing on aluminium

hybrid vessels and it has

concluded a license agreement

with the German shipyard,

Lloyd Werft, for hybrid yachts

over 76m (250ft) that will be

produced in Bremerhaven.

Lloyd Werft is owned by

Genting HK.

A Wider spokesman

confirmed that the builder

would remain in Ancona.

EUROPE

Heesen expands

to meet demand

for bigger yachts

NETHERLANDS Heesen

Yachts has grown its build

capacity by 27% and is

increasing its workforce to

meet demand. The Dutch

builder has expanded

its interior workshop in

Winterswijk, an hour’s drive

north of the yard’s home at

Oss, to 2,240m^2 , raising the

yard’s total build capacity by

some 27% to 8,100m^2.

Heesen first acquired the

Winterswijk facility in 2000. Its

total office space has grown by

332m^2 to almost 1,000m^2.

In tandem with the increase

in production space, Heesen

is hiring 30 new employees,

bringing the total workforce in

Winterswijk to 130.

“The expansion of both

the facilities and workforce

comes in direct response to

the increase in size and volume

of the yachts being built by

Heesen today,” the company

said in a statement. “In turn,

the level of sophistication and

expertise required to produce

interiors on this level means

more space, more equipment,

and more artisans.”

SAN GIORGIO S.E.I.N.

4HYPULPUZ[Y\TLU[ZHUKZLUZVYZ

sangiorgiosein.com

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