The APB reduces taxes on liquid fuel traffic arriving at the Balearic Islands
Palma de Mallorca
02/02/2016
Balearic Islands’ Port Authority (APB) will increase the bonus on bulk liquid fuel traffic in 2016 in order to reduce costs of fuel transport. A 23% discount will be applied to both the ship and goods taxes and it is estimated that this should lead to a saving of 200.000 euros for the shipping companies. On the other hand, the APB will apply the maximum bonus allowed by law to tourist cruise ships which call at Mahon, Alcúdia and La Savina’s ports, with the aim of stimulating these traffics and contributing to the economic and social development of their surroundings. In particular, cruise ships that call at these ports will enjoy a 40% bonus on both the ship and the passenger taxes. With this aim in mind, the APB keeps applying a bonus at Mahon’s Port to the regular transport of goods and passengers, with a reduction of the 20% of the ship, passenger and goods taxes. Palma and Ibiza’s ports will also apply in 2016 bonuses between the 10% and 40% to cruise ships, depending on the number of calls, the size of the ship and other specific conditions of application, such as the incentives for sighting land at different ports of the APB and the application of the maximum bonus value during low season. General interest The APB estimates a reduction of its income of approximately 16 million euros in 2016 due to the application of these discounts and to the reduction of taxes on inter-island maritime services. According to the president of the ports of general interest of the islands, Joan Gual Torrella, these measures contribute to the reduction of the costs of insularity. “These reductions and discounts of the port taxes allow us to provide greater liquidity to the firms and to the entire population”. These grants for 2016 add up to the reduction (downward adjustment) of the 30% that the APB has been applying for several tax years on the passage tax and of the 10% on the goods tax at the five ports of general interest managed by the APB, in order to contribute to the stimulation of the economic activity of the Islands. Besides, it is also worth recalling that the APB applies at its ports the maximum bonus allowed by law for insularity on the taxes of maritime services with other ports outside the archipelago. In particular, the 40% on ship and goods taxes, the 45% on passenger taxes and the 60% on goods vehicles.
