The European Commission (EC) has approved an extension of three amendments to the Dutch tonnage tax regime until December 31, 2028.
Originally approved in 2009 and 2010, the three measures concern a reduced tonnage tax rate for large vessels exceeding 50,000 net tons, a reduced tonnage tax base for ship management companies and the application of the tonnage tax schemes to cable-laying vessels, pipeline laying vessels, research vessels and crane vessels.
With the prolongation of the three measures, the Netherlands want to contribute to a stronger Dutch and EU maritime cluster and encourage reflagging to Dutch and Member States’ registers from outside the EU.
In order to obtain the Commission’s approval for the prolongation, the Dutch authorities committed notably to change their tonnage tax law with regard to flagging requirements for ship management companies, to requiring at least one EU or European Economic Area flagged vessel in the fleet when entering the tonnage tax scheme and to imposing a 50% cap on the revenues of activities considered ancillary to maritime transport.
The Netherlands will implement the changes by January 1, 2020.
According to the European Commission, the financial impact of the three measures is estimated at EUR 6.5 million (USD 7.2 million) per year.