RIVISTA DI DIRITTO TRIBUTARIO INTERNAZIONALE - Rdti.it

A. Guinier: A competitive emiromne1ll far eUlvpean shipping
- exemption from company tax, for modernisation schemes, on profits
from the sale of merchant ships reinvested in the purchase, modernisation
or transformation of another merchant l'esseI;
- suppor! to ensure high quality ships and equipment bv upgrading
existing ships to higher international safety standards;
- tax-free provisions for reinvestment in vessels;
- tonnage tax;
- flexible depreciation rules;
- calTy forwardJcarry back of losses.
Looking Back
Looking back into the history of the positive measures file, one is
tempted to compare it with the procession of Echternach syndrom. For
those not familiar with continental culture, Echternach is a piace in Europe's
smallest country Luxembourg (a Founding Member of the European
Union). They organise a Catholic procession around Whitsun. The
Characteristic of this procession is that hand in hand they proceed 3
steps forward, 2 steps back, alternating from the right to the left. AlI
this accompanied by polka music. However, mind you, eventually they
arrive.
We leave it to the reader to judge whether - apar! from the polka music
- our story OD positive measures is the same ....
Having given this brief historic review on suppor! measures for EU shipping,
a logical question could be what do you, European Shipowners, think
about it? Why did it take such a long time to come to something concrete?
This positive measures/EUROS file - although dealt with on a political
level - is, in our opinion, in the first instance a'pure economie file.
We are afraid this is often forgotten.
First of all, EU shipping (ECSA) (5) fully suppor!s the philosophy that
Europe, as one of the main trading entities in the worId, needs a strong
EU shipping sector.
(5) ECSA - The European Community Shipowners' Association - fonned in 1965
under the name of the Comité des Associations d'Annateurs des Communautés Européenes
(CAACE) and taking its present name in 1990, comprises the national
shipov,:ner associations of the Community and Nonvay. ECSA works through a permanent
Secretariat in Brussels and a Board of Directors, as well as a number of specialised
Committees. 1ts aim is to promote the interest of European shipping so that
the industry can best sen;e European and international trade and commerce in a competitive
free enterprise environment to the benefit oE shippers and consumers.
RiViSTA DI DiRIITO TRlBCTARlO L'ITER.\'A.ZIONALE 3/2001