NEWS
Russian Oil Export Duties Set To Rise
Russia oil export duties, in accordance with the set formula, may rise in August by 6% from the present USD248.8 per tonne, reflecting rises in crude prices, according to reports from the Finance Ministry website.
East Siberian crude taxes will rise by more than 12% to USD80.3 per tonne, up from the July rate of USD69.9. Russia reintroduced the tax on crude from 22 East Siberian fields on July 1 after a six-month interlude, with the duty set at reduced rate of 45% of the price in excess of USD50 per barrel.
The average price of Urals crude from June 15 to July 14, used to set new duty levels, was USD74.45 per barrel. Export duties on light refined products, such as gasoline and gas oil, are to be set at USD190 per tonne, up from the current level of USD179.9 per tonne.
On heavy refined products, such as fuel oil, the August tariff will be set at around USD102.4 above the current USD96.9 per tonne.
The oil industry in Russia continues to press for an oil taxation system based on profitability of the respective fields and claim that the present system will render unprofitable the more marginal fields.
A profits based system was discontinued because of transfer pricing ploys used in the 1990s that seriously affected revenues. Although the Russian government has instituted measures to deter transfer pricing schemes to avoid paying Russian tax, it is not yet ready to revise the system of oil taxation and risk reductions to its main source of tax revenue.
It is believed that Russia may increase the mineral extraction tax on natural gas by between 10% and 15% next year - less than expected. It was thought that the finance ministry wanted to double the tax from the current level set in 2005.
Quelle: Tax-News.com
