Danish shipping industry retains tax relief despite expert recommendation

The Danish Shipowners’ Association Danske Rederier has welcomed the country’s decision to maintain the Danish International Ship Register (DIS) scheme, which means that seafarers, whether Danish or foreign, do not have to pay tax on their wages on Danish ships.

The government has now completed work on looking at the current business support schemes. This means, among other things, that the DIS scheme, which is a crucial prerequisite for the international competitiveness of Danish-flagged shipping, is preserved.

“This is very good news for Blue Denmark,” said the shipowners association, adding that “Blue Denmark is a Danish position of strength that we must develop, not dismantle.”

Earlier this year, a Danish expert group has proposed to abolish the (DIS) scheme, a move which was characterised ‘a disaster’ by the Danish Shipowners’ Association Danske Rederier.

The shipowner’s organisation warned that abolition of the scheme would have major negative consequences for the country’s shipping sector, and said that in the short term, Danish seafarers will continue to sail, just under the flag of one of the neighbouring countries, whilst in the slightly longer term, there will be fewer and fewer Danish seafarers until they disappear completely.

As Danske Rederier said earlier this year, without the DIS scheme, Denmark will be drained of maritime competences, as shipping companies will not be able to recruit Danish seafarers in the long term.

Without the DIS scheme, the Danish flag will not be competitive compared to other countries, such as Norway, Germany and Singapore.

Denmark today has the world’s seventh largest maritime industry, and there are more than 100,000 people employed in the maritime cluster.

“It is very good that the government has decided to preserve the DIS scheme, also known as the seamen’s tax. I see it as a very clear expression that the government recognizes that Danish-flagged shipping is worth preserving and creates great value for Denmark. Blue Denmark is a Danish position of strength that we must develop, not dismantle,” said Anne H. Steffensen, chief executive of Danske Rederier.

“I see it as a very clear expression that the government recognizes that Danish-flagged shipping is worth preserving and creates great value for Denmark,” she noted, adding that the government has listened to their serious concerns.