The EU investigation is to determine whether the tax exemptions are in line with EU State aid rules.
The Commission also welcomed the commitment made by Spain to abolish the tax exemption benefiting Spanish ports as from 2020, allowing the Commission to close the procedure concerning Spain.
“If port operators generate profits from economic activities these should be taxed in the same way of other companies under the normal national tax laws to avoid distortions of competition,” Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said.
