Not have to pay one billion tax.
The government decided in 2007 that shipping companies should pay the tax debt on a total of 21 billion. Shipping companies protested sharply. They said the decision contrary to the Constitution, paragraph 97, which prohibits retroactive.
The case had its origin from an amendment introduced in 1996. At that time it was decided that shipping companies should avoid paying aion kinah taxes if they are not taking out dividends or moved abroad.
In 2007 the government changed tax rules. Shipowners industry had virtually no tax, in line with EU tax rules for shipping. In return, the shipping companies had to pay the tax they had earned for the past eleven years.
The state argued the tax claim was exposed, and that it therefore did not come in conflict with the Constitution. Shipping companies believed the intention was that the tax would never be paid.