The EU commission starts an investigation deepened on the tax exemption on the Italian harbour authorities



After the admonishment of the EU commission turned last January to Italy so that he adapted own legislation in order to assure that from on January 1°, 2020 the Italian Harbour Authorities subordinates to the enforced taxation for the enterprises came(of 8 January 2019), today Brussels has announced the activation of a groundbreaking investigation in order to estimate if the tax exemptions granted to the ports from the Italian norms, based on which the harbour agencies do not have to pour some tax for their activity of collection of the relative canons to the given state property assets in concession, are online with the norms EU in matter of aids of State.

A admonishment that last January the EU commission had turned also to Spain, than with the exception of Italy has accepted to modify own legislation in income tax matter of the societies in order to adapt it to the communitarian norms. The Spanish authorities, than previously guaranteed to the harbour agencies a partial exemption from the income tax of the societies limited to their main ones cespiti, therefore have been engaged beginning from to subject national the harbour authorities to the taxation on the yield of the enterprises 2020. The Commission therefore has decided to record the relative procedure to Spain.

For Italy, than it has not so not accepted to carry out such modifications as supports that the Harbour Authorities, now become Authority of Harbour System, are not economic public bodies and they cannot be considered which enterprises that exercise economic activities. From here the start of the decided groundbreaking investigation today from Brussels, than it has up to now not accepted the Italian position as it considers that the concession of harbour areas constitutes an economic activity that is different from the not economic activities that usually re-enter in the competences of public bodies, as that relative to the activities for safety and control of the marine traffic.

If the investigation had to assess that the tax exemptions granted to the Italian Harbour Authorities are contrary to the norms EU on the aids of State, the Commission could not however demand to recover the amounts of taxes not poured, considered which aids already granted, as such amounts turn out to be "existing aids" since they were already in vigor before the adhesion of Italy to the European Union. The same one would have happened for the Spanish tax exemptions, already in vigor before the adhesion of Spain to the EU.

The started groundbreaking investigation in confronts of Italy represents the third party step of the procedure of confronts with the Member States if the EU commission considers that the "existing aids" can violate the European norms in matter of aids of State.