By the end of last year, the state of Montenegro had given up 104 million euros due to a preferential tax policy on fuel sales for wealthy yachtsmen in Porto Montenegro, according to data obtained from official institutions by the Action for Social Justice (ASP).
"ASP notes that, like all data it receives through official channels, it considers this data reliable only if it is submitted as such," the statement said.
The ASP reminded that privileges on tax and excise policy on fuel sales, or tax exemptions, were introduced by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) government through a special regulation, "which, in one of the rare moves in the public interest, was abolished by the minority government of Dritan Abazović, but these privileges were reinstated by the government of Milojko Spajić."
That type of tax policy, as ASP added, is not in line with EU policies.
"The Porto Montenegro project, which is currently backed by capital from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is considered luxurious, and the foreign partner once dictated key conditions for investing in that location, so the preferential tax regime for yachting tourism was one of those demands and represented its direct favoritism, while certain demands of the then investor (related to the lease) had no legal basis," the statement added.
The sale of the assets of the once renowned Tivat-based military ship repair company in an extremely attractive location, along with the granting of a multi-decade lease of the sea area and part of the coastal zone, represented one of the first hybrid privatization models implemented by the government at the time.
The tender only offered the sale of the company's assets, which were located on land and along the coast, but the selected buyer was also given the right to lease the coastal zone for a period of as much as 90 years.
"In the first years of the investment, the foreign owner increased the company's share capital through loan agreements, which were transactions for which there was no obligation to pay taxes, and the tourism project changed owners in 2015," the statement said.
As they added, by changing the company's headquarters from one European country to another and establishing a daughter company, to which Porto Montenegro was first sold, and then resold, the strategic investor of the Montenegrin Government also avoided the application of Montenegrin tax laws regarding the payment of capital gains tax.
"The state could have earned around 8,7 million euros on this basis, but the then owner took advantage of the tax benefits in Malta's tax jurisdiction and the fact that Montenegro has a double taxation avoidance agreement with that country. The project is now in the hands of capital from the UAE," the statement said.
The state of Montenegro, they concluded, is declared in the Constitution as a state of social justice.
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