FRENCH TONNAGE TAX LONG AWAITED LEGISLATION

By Alain Gautron & Stéphane Salou,Orrick, Paris

Following in the footsteps of many of its fellow European countries (U.K, Norway, Ireland, etc…) France has finally decided to adopt its own tonnage tax legislation. The desire to encourage a sizeable French shipping industry whilst not granting advantages which would be frowned upon by the European Commission has made the French government cautious in the crafting of this piece of legislation. As a result, there has been considerable debate between the French government and the French shipowning community as to the features which this law should contain in order to be attractive.

In preparing this legislation, France has had the advantage of being able to analyse the tonnage tax legislation adopted in other countries (and in particular the United Kingdom). It has chosen certain features from various other jurisdictions albeit retaining a very French flavour to the law being implemented. Although the framework of the law exists today, a decree giving further details concerning the application of the law, should be issued soon. Perhaps some of the questions raised by it today will be answered.

The United Kingdom is now adopting amendments which will change its tonnage tax regime. These changes are reported to potentially reduce its attractiveness for foreign shipping groups. The new French tonnage tax regime is therefore a welcome new arrival in this arena that could offer a significant alternative to the shipowners seeking a favourable tonnage tax jurisdiction.

This is only an excerpt of FRENCH TONNAGE TAX LONG AWAITED LEGISLATION

Content is restricted to subscribers. To continue reading please Log-In or view our subscription options.

Existing Users Login
Username
Password

Related Archive Files

• No Related Post