Tax break appeal for St George’s marina

The Corporation of St George’s has appealed to Government for nearly $1 million in tax relief to help make the marina project economically viable.

Mayor Garth Rothwell has written to ministers asking for them to drop the Queen’s Bottom fee as well as customs duty on the project.

He told the Bermuda Sun that the move would provide relief to the tune of $900,000 in the first five years to developers.

The call comes just a week after Municipalities Minister Michael Fahy announced that Government had allocated $360,000 in capital funding to the Corporation and had expressed support for the marina project.

Mr Rothwell said: “We have asked Government to waive the Queen’s Bottom fee that is due whenever anyone builds into the sea.

“We estimate that this would be around $400,000 in the first five years.

“And we have also asked Government to remove the customs duty on the development too. This would be around half a million dollars in the first five years.”

Plans to create a new marina have been designed to transform the harbour into a ‘yachting hub’.

The project will consist of a marina, a welcome centre and dock management areas, all of which will be available year-round and will be serviced 24-hours a day.

Mr Rothwell said that members of the Corporation hoped to meet with Government next week to discuss the relief request.

He added: “This is about reducing the up-front costs and making the project economically viable.

“There are risks associated with attracting sufficient transiting yachts to use this marina. And we need this sort of relief to make that risk worth taking.” n