SYDNEY, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has put forward a motion in parliament on Thursday that will relax taxes on foreign superyachts.
At the moment, the government imposes a 10 percent Goods and Services tax on charters coming in from overseas.
This means a 100 million Australian dollar (80 million U.S. dollars) superyacht would have to pay 10 million dollars (8 million U.S. dollars) to sail in Australian waters.
The result often sees skipper's head to places like Fiji or other South Pacific Islands which are far cheaper.
For Industry body, Superyacht Australia, the move is extremely welcomed.
"Superyachts are highly lucrative within the tourism sector," the group said in a statement obtained by Xinhua.
"Australia has some of the most spectacular coastal and aquatic attractions in the world, and approximately 70 percent of all international visitors report enjoying coastal experiences as part of their trip."
Currently, it's estimated superyachts bring in about 2 billion Austalian dollars (1.6 billion U.S. dollars) to the local economy, but superyacht Australia believe "it could contribute an additional 1.12 billion Australian dollar (0.9 billion U.S. dollars) to the Australian economy by 2021."
