There was reason to party at the MYBA Charter Yacht Show in Genoa yesterday (7th May) when it was announced that the axing of the Sardinia luxury tax had been confirmed.

Ships agents Luise and Sardinia Yacht Services threw an impromptu party on the dockside to celebrate, inviting charter yacht brokers, yacht crews and marine traders attending the show.

All had good reason to celebrate the abolition of the tax, which has done so much to harm the charter yachting industry. Last year some yachts were paying up to 15,000 Euros to enter a marina in Sardinia.

Flavio Luise, managing Partner of Luise Group, told SuperYacht World that the number of yachts visiting Sardinian ports since the tax went into effect in 2006 had dropped by 50 percent. He said: “this is a very good day for everyone who works in the yachting and luxury sector in Sardinia. Despite our best efforts over the past three years trying to get clients to understand this tax, we faced enormous challenges and incurred a drop of approximately 20-25 percent in revenue each year because of the lack of superyachts travelling to Sardinia.”

Renato Azura of Sardinia Yacht Services told SuperYacht World “This is good for super yachts and will ultimately be good for the people of Sardinia”.