Greece Eyeing Tax Incentive Plan for Investors in Shipping

UGS vice president George Angelopoulos; UGS member Michael Chandris, Greek Shipping Minister Panagiotis Kouroublis; UGS president Theodore Veniamis and member John C. Lyras.

The Greek government is currently looking into a taxation plan that aims to attract foreign shipping interests seeking to invest, said the head of the country’s shipowners union, Theodoros Veniamis at the closing ceremony of the biennial Posidonia 2018 maritime trade show held at the Athens Metropolitan Expo last week.

Dubbed “non dom”, the special tax regime will apply to foreign nationals, including diaspora Greeks active in shipping wishing to invest in the sector. A similar scheme has successfully been implemented in Italy and Cyprus with positive results, “why not in Greece”, said Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) president Veniamis.

Addressing foreign media on Friday, Veniamis noted that the “Greek shipping industry continues to hold its leading position, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, in the international shipping ranking, having successfully met the challenges of the particularly difficult freight rate market of previous years and other challenges”.

“In order to continue our successful course, we must remain competitive. The term ‘competitiveness’ is the key to the survival of every shipping industry and must be a common goal of the industry and the state as well as of the European Union as our shipping is an integral and strategic part of it,” he added.

Veniamis added that the UGS had tabled a proposal to the shipping ministry to attract foreign shipping firms and ship owners to Greece, with the creation of a special platform.

The UGS head also said he supports the establishment of private navy academies as well as the need to upgrade public training and to create new positions in order to keep Greece’s navy officers in the country.