If you rest your head...

Hotel tax increase and collect on boats.

That's kind of scary to contemplate. How will " the government" calculate the " sleep tax" on a charter boat?

Just for easy, lets say 10 ppl on a cat for 10 nights, charter base cost is 10,000 USD. A hundred bucks per person per day is not all " lodging", it is also transportation rental. Is there a BVI tax on transportation rental ? How do you arrive at a real figure for " lodging" tax ?

10 bucks a night per person doesn't sound terrible, most people spend that in half an hour at the bar. But at the full 100 bucks per night " lodging base", that sure as heck is a thousand bucks in Lodging tax.

Alrighty then. I think I'd be checked out of the BVI pretty darned quick and checked into Cruz Bay/USVI.

Yeah, I can affirm this would never fly with my crew. We're already being raked over the coals on all the transport, taxes and fees just to get there. I'm afraid that straw would break this camel.

Keep moving nothing to see. :-)



Or how about this one. Welcome to Culebra where you clear customs on the phone for free.

That's right, CaptainJay--rub it in!!

They are scrambling to make up for declining revenue from the financial sector.

Who will they have left to squeeze when they kill tourism?

The solution is not to increase taxation, but to increase tourism.

The threat of a lodging tax (on top of other fees and restrictions and on top of the difficulty/cost of getting to Tortola) was my breaking point and one of the reasons we booked our next charter out of Puerto Rico. We might swing by the BVIs for a few days, but the bulk of our charter will likely be spent in the SVIs and USVIs. They lost probably $15,000-20,000 in BVI-based revenue for the sake of a few hundred dollars in taxes and fees. Is it a coincidence that a few charter companies recently established new bases in Fajardo? Or are they hedging and giving their clients other options in the Virgin Islands? We are also looking much closer at alternative locations to charter in the Caribbean as well as elsewhere. We love the BVIs and their people, but there are plenty of other venues we can go sail.

If you charter a boat for anything in Europe. Even if the boat is just anchored off your villa to look at it you will pay tax on every Euro of the amount paid for the boat. Each country is a little different. They are all >20% of total charter fee in tax. At the end of the day the USVI and BVI taxes on hospitality remain on the low end. Rent a boat in Ft. Lauderdale and the sales tax will be 6% and 7% if the dock is in Miami.

Puerto Rico is having a massive problem paying their bills. More revenue will have to be found somewhere. Enjoy the current pricing while you can.

If you chartered out of USVI and then checked into BVI and stayed 6 days would you still pay all of the BVI taxes?

Well I'm hoping cooler heads prevail. As we see in the US politicians are not the brightest bulbs, and is playing out in the BVI. Good news is that the current president seems to be tapping brakes on this plan.

Btw ..anyone who believes charter companies in STT make Out well on this deal are clueless. Nobody pays 10 grand for a boat to circle St. John. anyone who has gone to the SVI knows the return can be rough. Nearly every boat chartered in the USVI heads to the BVI. If cost becomes toxic in the BVI it will effect charter co,s in both locations badly. I would not be surprised at all since the BVI charter cos are well connected with government that what comes of this is an increase in fees for USVI yachts entering the territory.

Can anyone say CUBA?

I have just received an email from The Moorings that they are opening a new base in Puerto Rico. I can't help but wonder if this is in response to the new taxes being considered in the BVI. My wife and I would be willing to give it a try.

For whatever it is worth. The amendment to add boat rentals to the list of businesses subject to the now 10% hotel tax did not pass.

"The Bill was eventually passed without the amendment to include boats on the list of accommodations."

Next on the agenda? How to tax the ladies renting out their living rooms for daytime business meetings?

What to do with all this extra cash from the new taxes and fees on some? Well... on the spending front. There is a plan afoot to start subsidizing the container shipping industry willing to ship direct to the BVI by passing St. Thomas. Today a container to St. Thomas is $2,000 with an additional $2,000 to make the hop over to Tortola. If the runway and new Flintstone Airline does not work out? Maybe large charter groups could ride containers from the US to Tortola? How many TTOL'ers could you fit in a container?