The European Commission welcomed on Friday 15 November Spain's commitment to abolish the tax exemption for Spanish ports as from 2020. It has thus closed the proceedings against Madrid.
In Spain, port authorities are currently exempt from corporate income tax on their main sources of income, including port fees or income from rental contracts.
In the Basque Country, port authorities are currently fully exempt from corporate income tax.
In January 2019, the Commission asked Spain to adapt its legislation to ensure that from 1 January 2020, ports pay corporate tax like any other company operating in their territory, in accordance with EU State Aid rules. Spain has agreed to amend its corporate tax legislation to bring it into line with EU State Aid rules.
The Spanish authorities have, in particular, undertaken to subject Spanish ports, including those located in the Basque Country, to the normal corporate tax regime from 2020. The exemption from corporate tax for ports already existed before Spain's accession to the EU. This measure is therefore considered as 'existing aid' and the Commission cannot ask Spain to recover the aid. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)