The European Commission yesterday opened an investigation into tax incentives for shipyards in Poland. The commission believes Warsaw’s flat-rate tax on sales for yards could be construed as operating aid, something that is illegal within the EU.
In September 2016, Poland adopted a law giving shipyards operating in Poland an option to pay a 1% flat-rate tax on sales from the building and conversion of ships, instead of paying the generally applicable 19% corporate tax.
The current Polish administration targeted reviving the nation’s shipyards as a key plank of its economic policies.
