Trade with Greece
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the most productive sector of the Greek economy
in terms of added value per employee, while
ocean-going shipping provides the country with
almost €15 billion in foreign exchange, playing a
key role in the creation of a services surplus.
Special mention should be made to the Voluntary
Agreement signed by the government and the
Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) —which was
ratified by the Greek Parliament on October 1st,
2014— whereby the Greek shipping industry
increased its share in the country’s tax revenues,
in order to help the state deal with the conse-
quences of the economic crisis, through an one-
off contribution of €420 million, to be paid during
the period 2013-2016.
Finally, one should not overlook the fact that
Greek shipowners have been supporting the
country’s economy in various ways, through
investments in energy, construction, tourism,
banking etc., as well as by sponsoring cultural
activities and charities.
The existing tax regime
The main driver for the emergence of Greek-
owned ocean-going shipping as the biggest and
highest-quality maritime transport power in the
world, was legislative decree 2687/53 “on the
investment and protection of capital from abroad”,
which, owing to its constitutional force, has
remained a fixed point of reference over time, in
this fiercely competitive sector.
According to article 13 of this legislative decree,
the preferential treatment afforded to capital from
abroad with the aim of expediting the country’s
economic growth, also includes vessels with a
total registered tonnage of at least 1,500 that fly
the Greek flag.
This article, apart from stipulating various
favourable terms in regard to the provision of bank
financing to Greek-flagged vessels, also includes a
series of provisions aimed at supporting ocean-
going ships that operate in international waters, the
most important being the ones concerning taxa-
tion.
Ocean-going shipping is taxed much differently
than other sectors of the Greek economy, owing
to the fact that this activity is carried out in inter-
national waters and very far away from the oper-
ator’s registered seat, which can easily change if
the tax regime of another country is deemed to be
more favourable. Greece has adopted the ton-
nage tax: specific tax rates are set per metric ton
—based on the scale of gross tonnage and the
vessel’s age— while corporate profits are exempt
from taxation, given that the tonnage tax exhausts
the tax obligation of the shipping company.
The constitutional protection afforded to this tax
system guarantees stability and confidence, and
led to the meteoric rise of Greek shipping; more-
over, the system was subsequently adopted by
other nations as well, while it is currently in force
all over Europe.
The European Commission, in a bid to secure a
level playing field for all EU member states in
shipping, has issued a series of guidelines on
state aid to maritime transport, the application of
