The Union of Greek Shipowners decided yesterday at an extraordinary general meeting to extend the voluntary contribution its members pay to the Greek state for another year through 2018.
Athens anticipates this voluntary contribution will amount to around EUR40m next year.
The voluntary contribution is beyond the owners’ annual tax bill, which has been the source of much controversy in recent years.
Account firm Deloitte’s tax services department released a comparative study of the tax frameworks for shipowners in Greece compared to the rest of Europe.
Deloitte statistics show that a Greek shipowner pays an annual tax of EUR68,328 for a supramax bulker, while a German owner would pay just EUR23,850 for the same 58,000 dwt ship.
European Union officials have lashed Athens and the Greek shipowning community in recent months for their failure to pay the right amount of tax.
