The European Commission asked Italy on Friday 4 December to abolish the corporate tax exemptions granted to its ports in order to bring its tax regime into line with EU State aid rules.
Profits made by the port authorities in the course of economic activities must be taxed under normal national corporate tax law in order to avoid distortions of competition, the Commission argued. The decision is the result of investigations carried out by the Commission into port taxation in the Member States.
“Today’s decision for Italy – as previously for the Netherlands, Belgium and France – makes clear that unjustified corporate tax exemptions for ports distort the level playing field and fair competition. They must be removed”, commented Margrethe Vestager, Commissioner in charge of Competition Policy.
The Commission considers that the corporate tax exemption granted to Italian ports provides them with a selective advantage in violation of EU State aid rules. In particular, the tax exemption does not pursue a clear objective of public interest (promotion of mobility or multimodal transport). The tax savings generated can be used by port authorities to finance any type of activity or to subsidise the prices charged by ports to customers, to the detriment of competitors and fair competition. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)