Press Release: State aid: Commission decides Dutch exemption from waste tax for dredging sludge does not constitute state aid

The European Commission decided on 3 February 2005 that a tax exemption for sludge dredged from public waterways did not constitute state aid. The Commission took account of the fact that the tax exemption did not provide selective advantages to certain undertakings and was fully consistent with the public policy objective in the Netherlands of encouraging the dredging of public waterways.