Saturday, March 3, 2012

President's Letter - February 2012


Dear Members,

On February 23rd we celebrated the most important act of the year for our association: The Annual General Meeting. At the meeting you had the absolute protagonism and the power to decide our future. We, who have the honor of enjoying the confidence you have placed in us to run AENB, are happy to be amongst so many friends, amongst so many entrepreneurs. We are all part of this family.


A family that defends in equal measures the interests of all its members, from whichever municipality they come from or whatever they dedicate their activity to, everybody is equally important to us. Certainly many people not related to the sector do not understand that the nautical sector is not homogenous, neither are its clients. Some of our members concentrate on the local clientele, normal people who enjoy their hobby as far as their wallets permit. Some of our members concentrate more on clients with high purchasing power from elsewhere in Spain and abroad. We are all united, but we don´t all function the same way. Now is the moment, if you allow me, to make balance of the year 2011 and to try to glimpse what the future holds for us.

Although the situation continues difficult, we face it the best way know: working every day, improving our already excellent services when possible and investing in I+D. This is what makes us a dynamic sector with great potential. But as much as we work we always stumble on the same tax jungle and the same outdated legislation that prevents us from prospering. The Public Administration should see us as an opportunity to fight against the crisis, to generate employment and prosperity, rather than a sector to riddle with more taxes.

Today our principal goal, although not the only one, is to eliminate the Matriculation Tax. The Balearic Islands are perfect for recreational yachting and for charter. We are the envy of many of our competitors.

The customers would like to come, but they run into the for many insurmountable obstacle of the Matriculation Tax. According to data from AEGY, we lose between 6 and 7 million euros of income because of this tax. Can we afford it in the middle of this crisis? According to a report by Chamber of Commerce in 2009, a charter tourist spends double than a normal tourist, and a superyacht client spends even more. Wouldn´t we all benefit if we made it easier for these wealthy visitors to come?

There has been many arguments recently about the Palma Boat Show. We, as the nautical entrepreneurs, believe in its importance. As we also believe in the necessity for all of us involved in the organization to join forces to improve not only the current format of the Show, but also to optimize resources used in the organization. The Show should become again an opportunity to showcase our products and services, to make contacts and to increase our business volume.

Although in 2011 the crisis hasn´t given us a respite, we have reasons for optimism. In the association we haven´t stopped one moment to inform about our problems and to try to persuade the decision makers to lighten the tax burden and legal obstacles that undermine us.

Recently, thanks to the intervention of one our award winners, Mrs Estarás, the European Commission officially requested the Spanish Government to modify the Matriculation Tax as it is deemed inconsistent with the European normative.

I´m sure many of you still remember the protests we organized during the Boat Show last year. The daily hootings to protest against the governments lack of understanding of the nautical sector, which manifested itself in the lack of support and countless obstacles for the correct development and practice of our activity. I can´t help but get moved when thinking that for the first time we managed to unite the users, the industry professionals and entrepreneurs behind the same cause.

Yes, we have achieved a lot of things. But none of it would have been possible without the strength you transmit to us. All and each one of your voices join to demand the decision makers to liberate us from the heavy fiscal and legislative chains that prohibit us to do our work as we should. We, moved by your support, commit ourselves to continue to work every day for your benefit.

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