RIVISTA DI DIRITTO TRIBUTARIO INTERNAZIONALE - Rdti.it

Maritime fiscal policy in the European Vnion: the
prospects in Italy also in the light of the enabling
law for the refonn of the taxation system (*)
Giovanni Puoti
l. European Union guidelines as regards maritime transport
The policy of the European Union as regards carriage by sea aims
chiefly at promoting Union sea-transportation and also at ensuring freedom
of access to the sea-transportation markets ali over the world for
safe and eco-compatible shipping, preferably registered in the member
States of the Union and crewed by Union citizens.
Although the European Commission has, since 1989, acknowledged
that a problem exists because there is no real competition among the Union
flags, the member States, due to the failure of the Union to intervene to en-
Force a certain degree of harmonisation, have adopted autonomous mea- [
sures in order to safeguard their interests in the maritime sector. They have
introduced measures to facilitate the use of national colours and, at the
same time, to discourage the use of other non-Union flags.
The foregoing measures have been chiefly based on the creation of a
second domestic Register, for the listing of ships used, chiefly or exclusively,
in intemational business. Concessions relating to both taxation and
labour law and those relating to the granting of subsidies, qualifying as
State-aid, in favour of the shipyard industry or of ship-owning companies,
have been linked to this registration.
In 1989 The Commission drew up a series of guidelines which set out
the conditions on the basis of which the granting of state aid to maritime
transport were to be considered compatible with the European Union market:
the Commission acknowledged, in particular, that the fleets of the
member States were in a difficult position as regards competition, due to
the advantages available to operators flying a third country or an 'expedient'
flag. The foregoing entailed considerable differences in operating costs.
(*) This article reproduces. in part, the paper given at the conference of studies
00 'Maritime taxation in the European Union', organised by the University of Rome
'La Sapienza' (Post-graduate COllI'Se in International Tax Law and the Postgraduate
School in Transport Economics) and held in Rome on 2 ApriI 2001.
RIVISTA DI DIRITTO TRIBUTARIO INTER\AZIONALE 312001