According to data of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (hereinafter referred to as UNCTAD), the year 2013 Greece found itself once again in the last few decades, in the first place among the Shipping States.
The fact that this distinction is neither casual nor a serendipity, but rather our country is firmly in the top ranking position on shipping internationally in recent decades, coupled with factors that will be further analyzed, lead to the conclusion that the shipping industry is one of the most powerful advantages of our national economy.
However, despite the prominent international presence, in the inland it is not taken into account in the same way.
A characteristic example is the general image that has prevailed for shipping, according to which the industry is not connected with the activity of the country in the international arena, while the calculations for contribution to the national economy usually remain in direct contribution through the maritime exchange (amounts sent by seamen and ship-owners in Greece) as well as taxation (Charlayti, Thanopoulou, Theotokas, 2009).
This study aims to analyze all those factors thanks to which a country with little land and population like Greece, may acquire a naval force which is “disproportionate” to other economic aggregates and manage the largest in transport capacity fleet in the world.
Still, target is to point suggestions for ways that will enable the conservation and exploitation of the advantagesof this distinction, for the benefit of the national economy.
The specific resolution acquires particular relevance if one considers that the shipping industry through the product offering (the carriage of goods by sea) with its operation serves the secondary demand and that our country’s overall needs for maritime transport, as reflected by the total production and consumption of, either we are taking about inputs or outputs of transported loads, is only a fraction of the capacity of the Greek-owned fleet.
Starting with the research question, it could be said that the first part, which refers to the economic reconstruction of the Greek shipping industry, is more distinct. Regarding to the ways of repatriation there are mixed reactions on what the repatriation of the Greek shipping might mean. As a research team we tried to approach this issue with two different schemes: taxation and legislation. We did this in order to understand the context in which an economic reconstruction of the Greek shipping can be achieved and whether the Greek State, through these two guiding lines, could give some perspective to engage the Greeks and the foreign ship-owners on Greek shipping. Taxation is the instrument of fiscal policy of a State and is a key factor for the progress and development of public and private economy. This effect of taxation becomes more distinct and intense in areas that are anyway internationalized and extroverted, such as shipping. The Greek shipping industry is an important sector of the economy of our country with huge profits annually and its main blow is the taxation. As mentioned above, shipping is an internationalized and extroverted area and is focused on markets that will generate maximum profits with low, or minimal in some cases, tax burden. In our analysis we also do a comparison of the tax regime in Greece and that of Great Britain since for several decades many Greek ship owners are operating there due to more favorable terms. Τhe fact, however, of the changes in the tax system in Britain currently, may be a good opportunity for the Greek State to approach and “repatriate” the Greek ship-owners that are in London. On the other hand we have the legislative context which we should take into consideration to understand that there may be economic reconstruction of the Greek shipping and whether it is likely that the Greek State will attract Greek and foreign ship- owners, in order to operate in our country. However, process of issuing approval documents, is a time-consuming and complicated process which repels the ship-owners from having business in Greece. Furthermore, in this essay there is a reference on the flags of convenience and the Parallel and International Registers (Bis) and it analyses their pros or cons, such as the low or zero taxation, the reduction of costs by eliminating the restrictions on manning of the ship, the compulsory annual inspections and the fact that the owner has the ability to raise its State flag and the ship can enjoy the protection of the flag State. We conclude on the value and importance of the port of Piraeus, but also of the Greek shipbuilding industry, with regard to the development and reconstruction of Greek shipping. Finally, some suggestions are reflected in order to have an upgrowth in the shipbuilding area and in the Yards of Scaramanga and Eleusis.
ISBN: 978-618-81595-2-5