Additional tax when in Spanish and Italian waters

[Balian65]

 

8 hours ago, CintiPam said:

My upcoming May 3 Riviera cruise Barcelona to Rome stops two days in Monaco as well as in Toulon, Antibes and Corsica before proceeding to Italian ports. So does that mean I do not have to pay VAT on every drink or bottle of wine I purchase on board or only not those two days in Monaco or only when in the Spanish and Italian ports and nearby waters and not in French ports or waters or what?  I clearly and confessedly am confused after reading all of the above posts.

 

Thanks in advance for your knowledgeable responses.

 

Monaco is an integral part of the EU customs territory and VAT area, and therefore applies most measures on excise duties and VAT.   (from Wikipedia).

 

To my knowledge all EU countries could act like Spain and Italy. Each of them in their own boundaries and with their own VAT tax rate. I know Germany (from where I come) does not act this way because the administration costs are significantly higher than the tax income. I suppose the same applies for France and other countries.

 

Concerning your trip route in European legal terms you do not leave the EU customs territory at all. So I am not sure if you will not be charged VAT all of the time of your cruise. VAT rates all over Europe differ from 18% to 25% and are included in the shop prices offshore (but not on the ship). There are reduced rates (7-12%) mainly for food but definitely not for alcohol for which there maybe extra tax rates in some countries.

[LHT28]

I  think  some people are making this more confusing  than it already is

There is  VAT onshore purchases  that I  understand 

But the big problem is  the VAT  on ship purchases   while in Spanish waters

 

To me  Spain Brazil & Italy  it is just  a free money grab  but none the less  the cruise lines comply with their demands  to dock in those Countries

JMO

[StanandJim]

12 hours ago, CintiPam said:

My upcoming May 3 Riviera cruise Barcelona to Rome stops two days in Monaco as well as in Toulon, Antibes and Corsica before proceeding to Italian ports. So does that mean I do not have to pay VAT on every drink or bottle of wine I purchase on board or only not those two days in Monaco or only when in the Spanish and Italian ports and nearby waters and not in French ports or waters or what?  I clearly and confessedly am confused after reading all of the above posts.

 

Thanks in advance for your knowledgeable responses.

Hi Pam!

You will pay the Spanish VAT tax until you either land in a freeport or land in a non-EU port.  

[CintiPam]

So, I have read that although Monaco is NOT in the EU, it follows French VAT practices.  Therefore, I am reconciled to paying Spanish VAT rates for my entire cruise.  Rats!!  (And if I am wrong, it will be a pleasant surprise!)

Edited April 3, 2019 by CintiPam

[Mura]

Well, you can bring on your own and pay corkage, drink in your room, whatever.  You'll be in areas where you could easily do so -- you wouldn't have to buy a case in the U.S. and ship it to your beginning port.

 

Fortunately Oceania makes it easy to bring on your own ...

 

Now, if you usually go to a bar for your tipple ... yeah, that would be a problem.

 

Mura

[PaulMCO]

On 4/1/2019 at 2:09 PM, lais said:

Does it work the same way in Brazil? 

25% on goods and less on the liquor?

No in Brazil it is not a classical VAT,  Same % regardless.  The percent varies depending on which state you are in on average it is 17% but in Sao Paulo I think it is 19%??

[Redtravel]

We were on a b2b cruise in the Med. at the end of the first cruise, they announced that on the next cruise, there would be a VAT tax of 30% added to all purchases in the shops. We still jad time to biy stuff before the tax .  

[vistaman]

no single EU country does have a 30 % VAT - the highest is Hungary with 27 %

Denmark Sweden and Croatia do have a 25 %

[pinotlover]

Some countries such as Norway, which is a painful example, have other taxes such as huge taxes on alcohol!😫 These are not to be confused with VAT which are entirely separate.

[Rob the Cruiser]

On 4/4/2019 at 5:52 AM, PaulMCO said:

No in Brazil it is not a classical VAT,  Same % regardless.  The percent varies depending on which state you are in on average it is 17% but in Sao Paulo I think it is 19%??

 

We were in Brazilian waters earlier this year on Sirena. The VAT was 25% for purchases in the shops. There were signs at the entrances to the shops and on display tables warning about the VAT. If I remember correctly, there was at least one notification in Currents.

 

I don't know if the rates varied while onshore.

Edited April 8, 2019 by Rob the Cruiser

[Paulchili]

16 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Some countries such as Norway, which is a painful example, have other taxes such as huge taxes on alcohol!😫

That may be but they (and other Scandinavian nations) have among the highest standard of living in the world - well above ours - with free healthcare, education and excellent social & retirement programs.

At least the population of those countries richly benefits from those taxes (and have a lot fewer drunken drivers killing others).

[pinotlover]

Paul;

 

The purpose of my post was, not to make a political statement or support of adult beverage consumption, but to merely point out that sometimes large price differences in products are not always VAT related. Other taxes may apply. 

 

Also , for those not familiar with the system, in Europe VAT along with any and all other taxes are included in the shown prices of an item. They are not added on , at sale, as is the custom in the US or aboard ship.

[Shawnino]

5 hours ago, Paulchili said:

That may be but they (and other Scandinavian nations) have among the highest standard of living in the world - well above ours - with free healthcare, education and excellent social & retirement programs.

At least the population of those countries richly benefits from those taxes (and have a lot fewer drunken drivers killing others).

 

What does that have to do with anything?

[Paulchili]

47 minutes ago, Shawnino said:

 

What does that have to do with anything?

Didn’t someone mention huge taxes on alcohol in Norway?

I am just pointing out where those taxes go.

[Mura]

That's what I thought, too, Paul.  My Danish friend, Sisse, has mentioned the very high taxes they pay but ALSO the great benefits they have.

 

You will pay one way or the other, methinks.  Low taxes, higher costs.  Perhaps higher taxes, lower costs ...

 

Perhaps Shawnino's comment was more to the point you made about fewer auto accidents due to drivers' drinking too much?  Just wondering if that might be what he meant ...

 

Mura

 

 

[pinotlover]

Norway can live large with all the North Sea Oil income benefits they receive, plus being allowed to continually live like leeches off the American taxpayer. Norway only pays 1.6% of GDP in defense spending, considerable less than the 2% they have committed to. They live comfortably knowing that Paul and Mura gleefully pay the difference for them! 

 

Wish we could divert some of our defense spending to do the fabulous infrastructure projects they do! How do we get rid of the leeches and convince them to pay their agreed to fair share? I can think of several ways!

Edited April 8, 2019 by pinotlover

[Mura]

GLEEFULLY?

 

Oh please!  It's true that my mother's grandparents emigrated to the U.S from Norway in the 1870s, but that doesn't make me an apologist for their policies!  I was just commenting, basically on what my Danish friend says about HER experience.

 

My first trip to Norway was in 1975 and I wasn't happy to pay the liquor prices, so we didn't.  That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the experience there.  We have returned many times.  We just know that if we want to buy a drink (or maybe something else) cost is going to be factored in to our trip expense.

 

Frankly, I'd rather see their taxes up-front than deal with Italy, Spain and Brazil super VAT on cruises in their waters.  Normally that doesn't affect us -- if we're going to be sailing there we plan ahead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Paulchili]

pinolover,

I have several very good answers to your post but this is not the place for it.

BTW - USA has a lot more oil than Norway (#11 vs #21 in oil reserves according to US EIA and # 10 vs #33 in OPEC).

[ruthnlarry]

On 4/1/2019 at 4:47 PM, StanandJim said:

There is a semantic dissonance at work here.

 

The $59.95 charge provides cocktails on a tax free basis, that is true.

I.E. there are no taxes assessed on a drink by drink basis, whilst using the Package after the purchase.

 

However, whether a value added tax is assessed on the $59.95 purchase itself, is not within the purview of Oceania Cruises.  They are merely collecting the taxes after all, not assessing them or benefiting from them.

 

I know that we have paid VAT on Beverage Packages purchased on Cruises starting in Spain.  

 

 

We boarded Sirena in Rio yesterday.  I purchased the Prestige Bev Pkg, and no VAT was added.  Just 59.95/day.  

While in Brazilian waters a 25% VAT is added to individually purchased drinks in addition to the added gratuity.

[LHT28]

we had 2 ports in France  this week

no added VAT to purchaces onboard or single drink purchases

 

[Hawaiidan]

On 4/1/2019 at 5:57 AM, PaulMCO said:

On your cruise, the point is.  Make your purchases ahead of time.  If internet package is needed buy it before you touch a Europe port.  Same for a beverage package and of course any large purchases in the shops.

Rules change but I expect more countries to jump on the tax it than off the tax it bandwagon.  In most places taxes never go down.  VAT used to be 18 and 8% in Spain -- now it is 21 and 10%

 

Tax is on goods and services -- so yes SPA is taxable.

 Good  news  is that any purchase on land will already have the tax computed and in the price at time of payment/purchase  I was in France last month and Macron has pulled back on many of his  tax plans.   Spain is a nightmare of instability as is Italy, they change governments  as frequently as most change sox.