Povijest oporezivanja dobiti brodarskih društava u Republici Hrvatskoj i prijedlog izmjena propisa
Historical Account of Corporate Taxation of Shipping Companies in the Republic of Croatia

Summary/Abstract: In the process of the modernisation of maritime law, Croatia has – in spite of the dissolution of the Yugoslav federation, the Homeland War, and the transition of its political and economic systems – adopted in a timely manner its maritime legislation to global trends, including the laws on the tax status of the shipping industry. This article gives a historical account of the taxation of shipping companies’ profits. The 2004 Maritime Code granted full exemption from corporate tax, which had a significant impact on building the monetary reserves of shipping companies from 2004 to 2008, on the shipping boom, and on their ability to survive the decade-long depressed market caused by the Great Recession. Due to its accession to the EU, Croatia began applying a tonnage tax in 2013. The ten-year EU approval of the Croatian tonnage tax scheme expired on 31 December 2024. This article suggests some changes to the scheme (particularly to allow the application of a tonnage tax on voyage charter parties) prior to re-notification. Ultimately, the question is posed whether the tonnage tax is a sufficient State aid measure to enable European shipowners to compete in the global market with their Asian competitors or whether additional measures should be introduced for the entire maritime cluster to avoid the long-term decline of European shipping similar to that suffered by the European shipbuilding industry, which has collapsed in competition with subsidised Chinese, South Korean and Japanese shipyards.

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