Greek shipping industry faces threat of higher taxes

On 6 April 1941, Piraeus, one of the main harbours in Greece, was hit in a German bombing raid. According to Laird Archer, an American aid worker, "nothing in all the sound effects of catastrophe in Hollywood films could match the crashing thunder".

   The port was totally destroyed. But after the war, as Greece looked to the shipping industry to rebuild its economy it was soon transformed by the country's tycoons into a global shipping centre and commercial hub for the Mediterranean.

   The Greek shipping fleet has since become the biggest in the world, with almost 4,000 ships representing 19% of global shipping capacity. It contributes more than 7% towards the struggling economy, but the country's creditors say it can do more.

   The industry currently pays no tax on international earnings brought into the country under rules incorporated into Greece's constitution in 1967.

   But since July, when the government proposed to increase shipping taxes and to end other privileges due to pressure from the EU and other international creditors, ship owners have been threatening to move their businesses abroad.

Πηγή: bbc.com