We’re not sure why it took so long, but in the January 27 issue, Reforma, the much respected ‘New York Times of Mexico,’ took SAT/AGACE, the Mexican IRS, to task over the impounding of 338 foreign-owned boats, almost all of which remain impounded after two months.
The headline in the Mexico City newspaper roughly translates to “Mexican IRS makes a shipwreck of nautical tourism.” Similar articles appeared in El Norte, the most influential newspaper in Monterrey, the business capital of Mexico, and a number of other important state and local newspapers in Mexico. They additionally reported that SAT officials were scaring foreign boat owners over a $50 permit. It actually wasn’t over not having a permit, as almost all boats did, but they sure were scaring boat owners, no matter if they had a permit or not.
“This is probably the knockout blow [to the SAT program],” said one marina official. After all, everybody in Mexico knows that tourism and foreign investment are lifebloods of the Mexican economy.
