Victorian Marina Industry hit with above average taxes and charges

by Colin Bransgrove on 11 Sep 2014 Victorian marinas have the highest lease, tax and payroll costs of marinas in any state of Australia according to independent research commissioned by the Marina Industries Association (MIA). Victorian marinas lease, tax and payroll costs accounted for a whopping 61.2% of gross revenue compared to the national average of 44%. Tasmania and WA were lowest at 37% and 38% respectively.

The research was conducted by the Recreational Marine Research Centre, Michigan State University using industry data from the 2012-2013 financial year. The data was collected from 163 of Australia’s 347 marinas.

More specifically lease and tax charges paid by Victorian marinas averaged 32% of gross revenues compared to the national average of 20%. This was 12% above the next highest State SA which was 20.6%. NSW was 19% and QLD 18%.

According to Stefan Borzecki, MIA Victorian Director and owner of Yaringa Boat Harbour these figures highlight one of the challenges industry face in Victoria. 'On the one hand we have good demand for services at Victorian marinas including berthing, repairs and associated activities. This is reflected by the research findings that Victorian marina berth occupancies are at 88%, or 5% above the national average. As it is so difficult to build or extend a marina in Victoria, demand should continue to grow and gross turnovers increase.

Unfortunately this does not necessarily translate into growth in net profit. The staggering percentage Victorian marinas pay in lease, tax and payroll costs has a lot to do with this. These excessive costs also reduce a marina businesses capacity to employee more staff to meet the growing demand.'

The research indicated that across Australia marinas provide employment for approximately 19,000 people. Boating Industry Association Victoria CEO Steven Potts said 'the research demonstrates that Victorian marinas are very important employment hubs along the Victorian coast. We need to fully support the marinas so they can continue to foster new job creation in Victoria'.

The full research report can be found on the MIA web site.