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Higher taxes could lead Greek ship owners out of the country

A potential taxation overhaul of the shipping industry in Hellas, which could see the loss of particular tax benefits for ship owners, could lead to them relocating their offices to other countries, in a bid to retain their competitiveness. Capital controls imposed on Greek-based banks has been another reason of concern, leading many owners to register companies in Cyprus as well, in order to carry out basic bank transactions there. Under the latest bailout terms which Greece signed with its creditors, in order to stay afloat, it has pledged to look into the taxation benefits scheme it has set in place for the shipping industry, since the 1950’s. It’s a system which was copied by many other maritime nations ever since and one which helped propel the country’s ship owners to world leaders.

However, even if it’s protected by the Constitution, the country’s next government which will emerge from this Sunday’s elections, will be forced to examine potential changes to the existing framework, all toward seeking out more tax revenue from ship owners, based in Hellas. It’s worth noting, that the country’s Union of Greek Shipowners, in a preemptive strike, went forward and signed a bilateral voluntary agreement with the government, two years ago, under which, shipping will contribute at least $400 million over the next three years and up until 2016.

In the light of these latest developments, a lot of ship owners in the country are alarmed, especially when things like the abolishing of tax benefits, like zero tax in revcnues earned from ship sales, are set to be in the table of negotiations with the new government. After all, tonnage tax increases, although not welcome, are just a blip for most ship owners. As such, maritime clusters left and right have been involved in heavy lobbying over the course of the past couple of months, in an effort to attract more ship owners.

One of the latest ones is the newly relaunched Vancouver International Maritime Centre (VIMC), which already held a presentation towards Greek owners during London International Shipping Week (LISW), while another one was expected to be held yesterday (Monday the 14th of September), in Athens as well.

Vancouver executives have been touting of changes to Canada’s Income Tax Act which have redefined shipping activities to include a broad range of corporate activities, so foreign companies can manage their international shipping businesses from Canada, without their Canadian or foreign activities being subject to tax in Canada. VIMC promotes Vancouver as a location for international shipping companies, and assists interested companies in developing their operations as the gateway to the Asia Pacific.

It’s worth noting that a total of 668 shipping companied operate from Hellas, down by 22 on the year, or an annual decline of 3.2%, based on the latest date from Petrofin Research. Since 2011, the total companies have fallen by 94 or 12%. At the same time, 25+ vessel fleets constitute now over half of the Greek total in DWT terms (55%), and the number of the companies that run them has gone up to 40 from 35. Almost 30m tons DWT have been added to these fleets in just one year. Since 2011, the 25+ vessel fleets have gone up from 34 to 40. Also, the big are getting bigger and younger. The top category of 25+ vessel fleets aged 0-9 years has expanded significantly from 90,605,209 tons DWT in 2013 to 124,048,654 tons DWT in 2014 (up 33.5m tons DWT or almost 37%). The companies that run them are up from 14 to 22. Another Petrofin Research finding is that over 1m ton owners are up to 74% from 71.33% of the entire fleet and their number is now 63 from 61 last year and 60 in 2012. Smaller companies (with 1-2 vessel fleets) continue to reduce. Since 2011, the total number has fallen from 350 to 274. Over the last 17 years of Petrofin Research, the overall number of Greek companies has declined by almost 28%. Petrofin concludes that whilst fleet consolidation in terms of the total Greek owners is still taking place, the overall fleet DWT size is growing fast and its age is falling. However, despite the last 6 years’ difficult market conditions and lack of bank finance, the Greek fleet has exploited market opportunities and has demonstrated a deep commitment towards the future of Greek shipping.

Meanwhile, according to data from the Union of Greek Shipowners, despite recession, overtonnaging, an unstable freight market, reduced access to ship financing from banks, the Greek-owned fleet in 2014 increased in tonnage (dwt) and slightly decreased in the number of vessels. The Greek register accounted for 798 vessels (over 1,000 gt) amounting to 42,237.574 gt. The Greek-owned tonnage maintained the first position internationally. The Greek-owned fleet accounted for 3,885 vessels (ships over 1,000 gt) of 284.77 million dwt, representing 17% of total world dwt. The Greek flag fleet ranks seventh internationally (in terms of dwt) and second in the (EU) (in terms of gt). The Greek-owned fleet under EU flags accounts for 46.48% of the EU dwt tonnage. Moreover, Greek owners control 26.49% of the world tankers fleet (crude oil tankers), 18.82% of the world bulk carriers fleet and 14.28% of the world chemical and products tankers fleet in terms of dwt (excluding ships currently on order). In 2014, despite the persisting economic crisis, the Greek economy’s foreign exchange earnings from shipping slightly increased to 13.1 billion euros, compared to 12,08 billion in 2013, i.e., an increase of 9.04%, while shipping provided 192,000 jobs directly or indirectly on ships and ashore in the maritime cluster.

Most recently, Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA), the government authority charged with regulating Dubai’s maritime sector, highlighted the competitive advantages of emirate’s maritime sector to ship owners in Hellas. In a relative seminar, DMCA showcased Dubai’s emergence as one of the world’s leading maritime clusters, underlining the most prominent investment opportunities available within its maritime sector as well as the numerous benefits it offers to the Greek companies working in the sector. According to a recent international survey by Menon Business Economics Group, on the other hand, predicts that Dubai will be among the world’s top seven leading maritime centres over the next five years. Dubai is ranked as one of the five largest port operators in the world by headquarters. It is also among the world’s Top 10 in terms of both the size of ship owners’ fleets and size of fleets managed from the city, as a centre for port and logistics services; as a provider of world-class specialized logistics services; by volume of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) handled in city ports (2013); and by the number of maritime legal experts practicing in the city (2013).

The gathering provided an overview of Dubai’s plans to become a maritime haven along with its potential for the Greek maritime companies planning to establish or expand their operations in the emirate.

Amer Ali, executive director, Dubai Maritime City Authority, said: “Since launching its Maritime Sector Strategy (MSS) in 2012, Dubai has firmly strengthened its position as the Middle East’s top maritime hub. Dubai has achieved tremendous success in laying out world-class infrastructure and services, upholding the sector’s sustainable development, and introducing business-centric regulations.” “Our seminar in Greece was a prime opportunity for us to showcase the strengths of Dubai’s maritime sector and inform participants about how the world’s shipping players can enjoy even more growth through our exceptional maritime expertise and resources,” he added. The seminar was held in cooperation with Vardikos & Vardikos, a Greek international law firm based in Athens, and Al Tamimi & Company, the largest law firm in the Middle East.

source: http://coalspot.com