Related News

Home » Business » Transport

Shipping tax break extended

SHANGHAI will extend a tax break for foreign-registered ships until June 30, 2011, the city government said, following the State Council's approval for it to be built into a major international financial center and shipping hub by 2020.

Shipping companies registered in the Yangshan Deep-water Port will also be exempt from paying a business tax on their international shipping revenue. The tax from revenues of logistics companies and warehouse operators will also be exempt.

The city government is also planning to set up trial zones in Yangshan Deep-water Port to boost the international shipping service sector.

More favorable policies are expected to be granted to registered companies in the zones. With Nanhui District merged into Pudong New Area, there will be less curbs on the allocation of land resources.

The city government will also allow companies in Yangshan port to open offshore bank accounts and will waive the business tax for transport companies located in the port.

Shanghai-registered insurers also don't have to pay business tax on income derived from their international shipping insurance operations.

"We'll carry out research together with the city government concerning tax exemption and the setting up of a modern transportation system," said an official with the Committee of Shanghai Urban Construction & Communications. More details about the tax exemption are expected to be unveiled later this year.

"The development of Shanghai port can no longer be merely dependent on increasing throughput and the trial zone will provide a platform for port operators as well as shipping companies to develop new business," said Chen Xuyuan, president of Shanghai International Port (Group) Co Ltd.

The operator of the Shanghai port handled a total of 28 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) last year, a rise of 7.1 percent from 2007. The throughput of dry bulk goods totaled 580 million tons last year.

"We hope to see the throughput this year remain almost unchanged compared with that of last year with the (expected) economic rebound in the second half of the year," Chen added.

The State Council has urged Shanghai to build a modern transport system of highways, railways and waterways.

"The development of a shipping hub not only requires the integration of port resources but also a network that combines highway as well as railway as major means of container transport," Huang Rong, director for the Committee of Shanghai Urban Construction & Communications, said. "This is a crucial strategy for Shanghai and it will serve the Yangtze Delta region and the country."




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend