Brussels approves tax relief system for shipbuilding
The European Commission (EC) approved the new system of tax credits or tax lease, claimed by the Spanish shipyards to compete on an equal footing with their European counterparts.
The new tax lease is generic to all the sectors and allows prepayment of the goods to be purchased under finance leases.
The next step is for the Spanish Government to modify the Corporate Tax and to agree on the fiscal effort establishing the subsidy rate.
The previous tax lease allowed a 30 per cent bonus, the newspaper Faro de Vigo reported.
The Ministry of Finance and Public Administration has already promised to speed up the necessary legislative changes for the new regime to enter into force.
Meanwhile, the Competitiveness Commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, said: "After a long process of discussion, we have adopted a new leasing scheme compatible with the state aid rules of the European Union (EU), on the basis of recent proposals by the Spanish authorities."
This new scheme allows tax deduction on the cost of certain assets acquired under finance leases from the start of construction, without waiting for them to be exploited commercially.
Brussels found that this regime "does not involve any state aid under European standards, since it does not favour certain enterprises over others," the EC said.
The bonus system "applies to all types of capital assets acquired under finance leases provided they are manufactured according to the buyer's technical specifications and that they need a period of at least one year," continued clarifying the EC.
It was added: "It applies equally to goods manufactured outside Spain and manufactured in Spain. Furthermore, the measure is self-executing and is not subject to prior approval of the tax authorities."
Minister of Industry, Tourism and SMEs, José Manuel Soria, described the approval of the EC as "good news for the industry."
In addition, the managing director of the Basque Maritime Forum, Javier Lopez de la Calle, predicted that "the Basque shipyards announced the hiring of new vessels by the end of year." And he said specialized vessels and the tuna ones will be the first to be requested, reported Deia.
Thanks to the new legal framework "Basque shipyards can be launched to market to compete again," López de la Calle stressed.