Danish shipowners implore the government in Copenhagen not to take on board one of the recommendations of the Expert Group to explore how to support businesses in the future National. These, among the proposals, have in fact suggested the government to remove the tax exemption of the Remuneration of seafarers on board registered vessels Danish International Naval Registry DIS and the Ship Registers of other EU or European Economic Area countries, which is an exemption that is was introduced in 1988 with the aim of strengthening the International competitiveness of shipping companies Danish.

In examining this issue, the Committee of Experts highlighted that seafarers receive a net wage of such that its amount corresponds to that which would be paid to the net of taxes if the person is employed within the framework of the normal tax regime. Under the DIS scheme - "A seafarer is therefore in the same economic position in which it would be in fiscal conditions while the tax saved goes to the as a support for businesses in the form of higher wages. Low. The system is therefore advantageous for navigation'.

Specifying that in 2023, full-time employees covered by the DIS were about 13,600, of which about 5,700 were residents of Denmark and 7,900 residents abroad, the experts found that, with the application of the DIS scheme, support for businesses amounts to DKK 1.05 billion (€141 million), which would correspond to the additional revenue that the State would obtain if the seafarers had to pay ordinary income tax.

In its evaluation of the DIS regime, the Expert Group stated that it considers that this scheme is the expression of the the result of an international race to support the respective activities in the field of international maritime transport, A race, they pointed out, in which the national special schemes limit moving activities between countries, transfers - have observed - which in principle should be countered through common solutions adopted at international level. In In principle, they clarified, it would be more appropriate that all countries should eliminate the special treatment reserved for them to shipping companies. According to experts, however, there is no is no basis for concluding that the DIS regime responds to a market failure, and there is also a risk that the support to date for shipping companies caused by distortions, partly in relation to investment in the sector and In part, according to experts, because it could encourage the workforce to perform less productive tasks in the sector compared to what would happen in the absence of the scheme.

Wondering whether the DIS regime should be maintained for the comply with the tax rules of other countries, or it must be abandoned, experts have found that in the latter case there is a It is to be expected that the Danish shipping companies will abandon the flag to continue to be able to pay more net wages under foreign tax exemption regimes. In addition - they specified, referring to the hypothesis of abandonment of the regime DIS - Danish seafarers would be taxed on the basis of Danish tax conditions, but would be in competition, under the the wage aspect, with foreign seafarers who can be exempt from taxes based on the flag under which they work. Given that shipping companies are expected to try to Optimising their activities, they noted, must be assume that with time the shipping companies will replace the Danish seafarers with tax-free foreign staff. Probably - they specified - the transition will take time, but for a long time term you should expect to have a significant number of of Danish seafarers and Danish-flagged vessels.

The fact that they have fewer Danish sailors than today - they have experts found that it would not, however, have a negative effect on the national economy, given that so far, under the DIS scheme, Danish seafarers do not pay taxes to the Danish Treasury. If the system DIS would be abolished, they also pointed out, Danish seafarers should largely find work on the ground in Denmark and contribute to the payment of taxes to the economy, and this would have a significant positive effect on revenue for the State Treasury and Social Economy. While pointing out that the their valuation is subject to considerable uncertainty due to the of the complexity of the rules, the experts concluded that that, fundamentally, this would shift work from work tax-free and taxable work and therefore recommended a restructuring of the regime in this regard.

Danske Rederier, the Danish Shipowners' Association, 'Sad and worrying' is the fact that the Commission of proposed to abolish the system of taxation of and made a strong appeal to the government and the I cannot believe that this proposal is implemented because - warned the association - "will have serious consequences negative effects on Danish shipping'. Noting that the The Committee of Experts limited itself to providing for a significant reduction in the number of Danish seafarers and vessels flying the Danish flag with the abolition of the DIS regime, while not the effects of the on ground employment, Danske's CEO Rederier, Anne Steffensen, denounced that "abolishing the DIS system would be a disaster for Danish shipping. Essentially, he specified, it is a question of safeguarding the Denmark as a major maritime nation with thousands of employees in Denmark. The abolition of the DIS system - added Steffensen - will lead to a significant and massive exodus of ships flying the Danish flag to neighbouring countries and other nations from all over the world. Immediately there will be a impact on ground positions and over time we will also lose the Danish seafarers and important maritime skills. It's - it has underlined - a highly dangerous experiment from which it is necessary to stay away."

"Maritime transport," Steffensen continued, "is often and rightly referred to as an important position of strength Danish. The DIS system is a crucial part of the conditions framework that allow Danish shipping companies to ships under the Danish flag, to employ seafarers and at the same time to be competitive on the market global. Strong and stable political support for the profession Some of the successive governments have been decisive in make Denmark one of the ten largest nations of the world. Here, he concluded, status is at stake Denmark as a proud maritime nation and superpower maritime'.