EC ALLOWS TAX REBATES FOR SEAFARERS ON BOARD DANISH VESSELS

EC ALLOWS TAX REBATES FOR SEAFARERS ON BOARD DANISH VESSELS    The European Commission approved on Wednesday the Danish income tax reduction measures for seafarers on board Danish vessels registered either in the ordinary register or in Denmark’s second register, known as DIS.
   The EC said that European state aid guidelines for maritime transport allow European member states to lower income tax and social contributions of European Community seafarers working on board European vessels.
   The EC examined the question following a complaint received in 1998 that favorable fiscal measures were granted to seafarers on board Danish DIS-registered vessels allegedly in breach of European state aid rules.
   The Brussels-based body said that the salaries of seafarers are in principle taxable in the flag country, because the vessels on which they work constitute a territorial extension of this country. But it believes that the fiscal measures related to the income tax of seafarers in maritime transport in Denmark are so far compatible with European state aid rules.