SUPPORT MEASURES
(REPORT BY CANADA)
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MI/00 I/2 SUPPORT MEASURES (REPORT BY CANADA) |
APEC - MARITIME INITIATIVE
GROUP (MI)
ANALYSIS OF THE SUPPORT MEASURES SECTION OF THE
TRANSPARENCY EXERCISE QUESTIONNAIRE (TEQ)
(REPORT BY CANADA)
SUPPORT MEASURES (QUESTION #11)
This document is based on responses from sixteen (16) economies on Question 11 of the TEQ - Support Measures [MI/99 I2.REV.2].
General Remarks:
The responses would indicate that the industry is not generally the recipient of support measures. Most of the economies answering this series of questions report that they do not offer support measures or special treatment for their national maritime transport services. For the economies that have support measures or offer special treatment, the measures vary with no clear trend or commonality on how they are applied which renders a comprehensive analysis of measures difficult
It should be noted that not every question has been answered in a complete fashion and although this analysis is based on 16 TEQ responses, there may not be 16 replies for any one particular question. In some cases insufficient detail is provided to fully assess the response in relation to the question and to formulate a precise summary. As well, it would appear from the responses that questions have been interpreted differently and hence responses in section (b) on tax regimes may also apply to or be found in part (a) dealing with subsidies for the acquisition of vessels and part (c) on operating subsidies for maritime transport activities.
Support Measures Analysis:
a. Are there construction/purchase subsidies for acquisition of vessels such as grants, government guarantees, interest rate subsidies and are they taxable in the economy granting them or elsewhere?
Most (9 of 15) economies do not provide construction/purchase subsidies for the acquisition of vessels, while a minority (6) of economies do provide some form of support.
For the economies providing support, the assistance may be offered in a variety of forms (i.e. subsidy, loan or financial guarantee, tax incentive). The support may be offered for a specific vessel type (i.e. passenger) or be available for a specific region within an economy as opposed to economy-wide. There is little commonality between the 6 economies that have established support programs.
In instances where responses to the first part of the question were affirmative, responses to the second part of the question are incomplete - are they (subsidies) taxable in the economy granting them or elsewhere?".
b. Are there special taxation regimes applying to national shipping or shore-based activities?
The majority (10 of 15) of economies indicate that they have no special taxation regimes applying to national shipping or shore-based activities. Five (5) economies indicate a special regime relating to tax benefits. The 5 economies that provide special treatment do so for the construction of vessels, the importation/chartering of vessels and/or registration of vessels under their flag, or for ship operations. Of the economies that offer special regimes, the support measure is applied through various means.
c. Are there any operating subsidies for maritime transport activities such as grants, government guarantees, interest rate subsidies?
Most economies (8 out of 14) provide no operating subsidies for maritime transport activities. Of the 6 economies that do provide support, most are limited in scope applying to a geographic region within the economy, to a specified sector (vessels), or specific maritime activity. There is no uniformity on what form the subsidy takes, for instance direct funding, a tax exemption, or subsidy. Two economies did not specifically respond to this question.
d. Is there preferential treatment in access to and use of port facilities, including cost of port charges?
None of 15 economies responding to this question indicated extending preferential treatment to national maritime transportation services.
e. Is there any special tax treatment for national seafarers (income tax and social securities contributions) compared with seafarers from other economies? Are there any differences in treatment between national seafarers who are resident and those who are non-resident?
This question is in 2 parts: (i) tax treatment for national versus other economy seafarers; and (ii) treatment between national resident seafarers and non-resident seafarers.
The majority of economies (9 out of 16) either give no special treatment or differentiated treatment to seafarers, or indicate that the question is N/A (not applicable). Two economies do not specifically cover the question in their general response to question 11.
Of the 5 economies that provide a narrative response to this question, it appears that none treat national seafarers any more or less favourably than seafarers from other economies for the purposes of tax treatment. Only one economy appears to treat national resident seafarers differently from non-resident. While some of the responses indicate support or a difference in treatment, the replies do not provide sufficient specificity. Nevertheless, the results show that any favourable or different treatment for seafarers is provided by only a small minority of economies.
January 27, 2000
APEC/analysis/support
This page was last updated on 29 February 2000
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