Greek Shipping Companies Facing Tonnage Tax Hike

The privileged position of Greek shipping companies seems to be jeopardized as they face higher tonnage tax.

Namely, the country’s lenders are asking Greece to “increase the rate of the tonnage tax and phase out special tax treatments of the shipping industry”, Reuters reports.

Based on the system currently in place, the shipping companies are enjoying lucrative tax breaks which allow them to pay a voluntary amount, all with the aim of keeping owners in Greece. These include no taxes on profits from shipping operations, and no taxes on ship sales.

According to a separate document seen by Reuters, Greece has already made the first steps in this direction with a proposal to implement an effective taxation framework for commercial shipping and increase the tonnage tax.

Greek owners make up 20 % stake in the global commercial shipping fleet and the industry has been a major profit source for the country as it makes up 7.5 % of the Greek’s economy.

Fears have been raised by the Greek shipowners union that should the tax hike move forward ship owners would flee the country and move somewhere else.

The announcement comes as the Greek government orders a shutdown of the country’s banks following heated battle with the country’s creditors over its bailout terms. The Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has called for a referendum on the creditors’ demands which has been set for July 5th.

The referendum has seen the International Monetary Fund, the ECB and the European commission freeze the bailout plan. The Athens Stock Exchange remains closed today as well.

The move has seen world stock markets take a major tumble with share prices taking a dive on Monday.

World Maritime News Staff