Marginal utility of money. After redistribution through a luxury tax, the same craftsmen could make say 100 smaller yachts at the same cost as one mega yacht, each with less status appeal (which is zero sum), and on net increase wellbeing more.
That's not necessarily how the taxes were structured and the money might have gone into other things that hurt luxury yacht craftsmen.
We'd probably be better off with even one smaller yacht and paying the craftsmen to dig holes and fill them back in with the excess time. Less status to the yacht-buyer, but the same goes to his competitor buyers so it probably nets out, and then you have less exposure to fiber-glass dust and solvents and stuff for the workmen who are now doing something just slightly less productive from a marginal utility standpoint. Probably a net win overall.
That's not necessarily how the taxes were structured and the money might have gone into other things that hurt luxury yacht craftsmen.
We'd probably be better off with even one smaller yacht and paying the craftsmen to dig holes and fill them back in with the excess time. Less status to the yacht-buyer, but the same goes to his competitor buyers so it probably nets out, and then you have less exposure to fiber-glass dust and solvents and stuff for the workmen who are now doing something just slightly less productive from a marginal utility standpoint. Probably a net win overall.