EU: EC warns Greece on maritime subsidies

Greece may be providing illegal subsidies to its maritime industry by allowing shareholders of shipping and other related companies to benefit from a special tax rate, European Union regulators said on Monday.

The warning follows sustained pressure on Athens from Greece’s international creditors over the favorable tax treatment of its shipping industry.

The European Commission, the bloc’s top antitrust authority, said it has asked Greece to review which vessels are eligible under a special EU-sanctioned regime that levies taxes based on the tonnage of a shipping fleet rather than corporate profits. The rules, known as maritime guidelines, aim to discourage EU shipowners from relocating outside the bloc.

The commission said it had asked Greece to review how it applied the special rules, and in particular to exclude “fishing vessels, port tugboats, as well as yachts rented out to tourists without a crew.”

Full content: The Wall Street Journal

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