Maersk: Shipping company makes record profits

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Maersk containers in the Mannheim inland port: Only 3.1 instead of 15 percent taxes

Photo:

IMAGO / IMAGO/UJ Alexander

Denmark is notorious among workers for its high tax burden.

At least when it comes to corporate taxes, the Scandinavian country is at 22 percent well below the rate that is due in Germany (almost 30 percent).

But what the world's largest container shipping company Maersk paid in taxes last year is miles away from even 22 percent.

The group from Copenhagen made a record profit of 29.3 billion dollars in 2022, as can be seen from the company's annual figures.

However, only 3.1 percent of this ended up with the Danish state.

Since then, Denmark has been intensively discussing whether the company is doing enough to contribute its share to the state.

This is probably also due to the fact that Maersk is said to have benefited from this low tax rate.

According to information from "Danmarks Radio", the group has also worked behind the scenes to ensure that shipping remains exempt from the OECD agreement on global taxation.

Lobbying behind the scenes

Accordingly, the Danish shipping company can keep almost all of its profit for 2022, despite the agreement reached by 135 countries in 2021 on a minimum tax of 15 percent.

The shipping company simply took advantage of the loophole that still existed.

The broadcaster cites documents from the Ministry of Taxes and the Danish Shipping Administration that show how Maersk influenced the decision-making process.

It is not unusual for a company to want to position itself as well as possible for tax purposes.

In view of this history, however, it is more unusual that Maersk, according to "Danmarks Radio", publicly claimed last year that it was prepared to pay more taxes - provided there were international rules for this from the OECD.

A Maersk director admitted to the broadcaster that she was lobbying for the minimum tax.

There was concern about how these regulations would be implemented internationally, she said.

Instead of corporate income tax, Maersk only pays a so-called tonnage tax in Denmark, which is based on the size and volume of the company's ships.

German shipping companies also benefit from this system - and the state loses billions as a result.

Germany's largest shipping company Hapag-Lloyd paid just 0.67 percent in taxes in 2021 with a profit of more than nine billion euros.

The most recently booked profit at Maersk corresponds to an increase of more than 60 percent compared to the record year 2021 - and about ten times the profit of 2020. Sales increased by almost a third to 81.5 billion dollars.

It is the best financial result in the company's history, said the new Maersk boss Vincent Clerc.

Denmark's Social Democrat Tax Minister Jeppe Bruus showed understanding on television for the criticism and frustration of many Danes that they hardly get anything from the highest corporate profit in the country's history.

At the same time, according to the Netavisen Pio portal, he said that the special situation in shipping had to be taken into account.

The previous Social Democratic government had agreed to exempt the industry from the minimum tax internationally.

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