Time For A Sea Change

Now is the time to promote investment in Australian shipping, to help rebuild an ailing fleet, to allow Australian shipping to compete internationally...to deliver jobs and skills to Australian workers.

Time for a Tax Change in Australian Shipping

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The Minister for Transport Anthony Albanese MP commissioned a Parliamentary Committee to inquire into the future of the Australian shipping industry. It tabled its report in October 2008. The Minister then set up a Shipping Policy Advisory Group to advise on how to turn the Inquiry recommendations into a new national shipping policy.

It completed its work in April 2009. Minister Albanese is now working on the detail of a national shipping policy for consideration by the Government in early 2010.

A body of work that will help guide the support the Government provides to the shipping industry will be the Henry Report on Australia's Future Tax System, which is due to be handed to the Government late in 2009.

We are fast approaching a critical time in Australian shipping as the fleet continues to age and decline.

The MUA supports the Minister's commitment to revitalise Australian shipping - after the years of decline inflicted on the Australian shipping industry by the former Howard government. Revitalising shipping will require more favourable tax arrangements to support investment in shipping.

Send a message to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and their Cabinet ministers urging them to support positive taxation measures that will secure investment and employment in Australian shipping.

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Time for a Tax Change in Australian Shipping

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464 hands on deck

Our goal: 500

What We Want to Achieve

a tonnage tax
a Royalties Withholding Tax that supports bareboat ship charters that can be crewed with local labour
seafarer income tax measures that acknowledges their participation in an international labour market

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Message to the PM, Deputy PM and Cabinet

Dear Cabinet Member,

I am writing to provide a message of support and encouragement for the Maritime Union of Australia’s ‘Time for a Sea Change in Australian Shipping’,  which aligns with the Government’s commitment to revitalise the Australian shipping industry.

The Government will soon receive and consider the Henry Report on Australia’s Future Tax System.  I am concerned that the Henry Report will not provide a tax policy framework that will create an internationally competitive taxation regime for Australian shipping.  
 
If this is the case, I ask that you support industry specific taxation measures that will ensure Australia has similar taxation measures to all the other shipping nations of the world.
 
The key measures I refer to are a tonnage tax to replace the current profits tax*, a Royalties Withholding Tax that supports bareboat ship charters (the renting of ships) and seafarer income tax measures that acknowledges their participation in an international labour market.
 
Your support for such measures will ensure that capital investment is attracted to the Australian shipping industry so that we will have modern, efficient and less polluting ships operating on our coast.  Investment in ships will provide a genuine national freight transport market, offering service reliability, genuine modal choice and competitive freight pricing for shippers.
 
Investment in Australian shipping will have positive impacts on taxation revenue and on the balance of payments. We must stem the $7-8B capital outflow from our purchase of international shipping.

For too long, the Australian shipping industry has been left out of any real vision for the future of the country, yet it is an industry vital to our freight transport system and to our economic security as a trading nation.  It is an industry that requires new policies to encourage investment in ships.

I am urging you to take a long term visionary approach to shipping policy.   I urge you to support a policy package that provides incentives or both foreign and domestic investment in an Australian shipping industry – both its domestic and international arms.
 
It’s time for a Sea Change in national shipping policy and I urge you to support progressive tax measures that will be necessary to revitalise Australian shipping.
 
* A tonnage tax exists in Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sth Africa and the UK and is under consideration in other nations.

Yours sincerely,
Advocate for Australian shipping

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