With a documented intervention before the House Committee on Economic Affairs, the President of the Panhellenic Association of Private and Professional Yaps (PEPIETH), CPT. Dr. George Valis, highlighted a timeless issue that plagues thousands of Greek sailors: the unfair tax treatment of those who work on private and professional yachts.
Mr Valis, in the capacity of Masters I and head of PEPIETH, gave a voice to much of the navy world, pointing out that although yachts have nautical leaflets, they meet international security standards, they are insured in NATO and Shipping.
According to today’s legislation (article 15 of Law 4172/2013), merchant ships are taxed at a rate of 15% (officers) and 10% (lower crew). On the contrary, yacht seafarers are subject to the general private sector taxation scale, which in many cases exceeds 35% to 40%.
“We are no less sailors than our colleagues in ferry or commercial fleet,” PEPIETH’s president underlined, demonstrating the institutional inequality and social injustice experienced by Greek yachting seafarers, an industry that contributes 1.5% to Greek GDP.
Mr Valis noted that this difference is not only numerical: it creates professional insecurity, makes it difficult to attract new sailors to the rapidly growing sector of marine tourism and undermines the international competitiveness of Greek crews.
His intervention in Parliament was accompanied by a reference to specific parliamentary initiatives of MPs of various areas and parties, who have already highlighted the issue:
- Member of the B3 ‘South Athens Department of Athens, Ioannis Kallianos, has systematically raises the issue since November 2023.
- Piraeus MP, Dimitris Markopoulos, returned to the issue with a question on December 9, 2024.
- MP of Pieria, Spyridon Koulkoudina, requested legislative amendment on December 11, 2024.
- MP of N. Larissa, Christos Captain, spoke of “blatant injustice” and asked a question on March 13, 2025.
The main request filed is clear: to amend paragraph 2 of article 15 of Law 4172/2013 to explicitly include the sailors of private yachts in the existing special tax regime. As highlighted, it is not a request for privileges, but a restoration of equity and removal of an administrative gap affecting thousands of employees.
Mr Valis addressed special thanks to the ministers Nikos Papathanassis, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Giorgos Kotsira and Thanos Petralia, as well as their competent staffs for their support. At the same time, he praised the inter -party awareness and called for the immediate vote of the proposed arrangement.
“The sea unites – tax justice should not be divided,” he concluded, emphasizing the need for institutional response to a request that is not only a matter of law, but also substance to the country’s maritime policy.