Brussels, 21/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has made a series of proposed changes to ensure the compliance of public aid to the maritime sector with the EU State aid rules.
The Commission's orientations on State aid to maritime transport allow the member states to tax shipping companies on the basis of the tonnage of the fleet (i.e. on the basis of the size of the transport fleet) rather than on the actual profits of the company. The Commission expressed concerns that the Greek tonnage tax is not properly targeted and benefits the shareholders of shipping companies and businesses other than maritime transport businesses beyond what is permissible under the orientations on State aid to maritime transport. The Commission has therefore asked Greece to re-examine which vessels are eligible under its system and to exclude fishing boats, port tugs and yachts rented out to tourists without a crew from the preferential regime. The operators of these vessels should, in the future, be liable for ordinary income tax. The preferential tax treatment will also be removed for insurance brokers, ship brokers and other maritime intermediaries as well as shareholders of shipping companies, as none of these actually carries out maritime transport activities. Bulk carrier and tanker vessels, however, will be able to continue to benefit from the tonnage tax rather than a profit-based taxation scheme, as long as the operators of these vessels keep the part of the fleet they own under the EU flag or that of the European Economic Area.
Greece now has two months to notify the Commission as to whether it agrees with the proposed measures, in which case it will have to change its national rules with effect from 1 January 2019 at the latest. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)