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Govt. Suggests Gas Cos. Share Hi Profits
The Russian Financial Ministry will suggest that gas companies share the profit they received from raising natural gas prices, Deputy Finance Minister Sergey Shatalov stated at a press conference on Tuesday. That profit may add up to 25 billion rubles. “That sum could be shared,” Shatalov said. He also mentioned that the Finance Ministry last year proposed that the minerals use tax on natural gas be raised from its current rate of 147 rubles per 1000 cu. m. and that the ministry considers it necessary to abandon the zero-level minerals use tax on associated gas.
Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Kirill Androsov said at the end of December that his ministry was preparing proposals for a differentiated minerals use tax on natural gas that had to be conciliated with Gazprom and other agencies. He did not reveal the specifics of that differentiation. The same topic had been discussed at the beginning of the year, but disagreements arose over the specifics then as well.
The Finance Ministry estimates that the gas industry pays half as much taxes as the oil industry on high-priced gas. The Finance and Economics Miinstries have agreed to raise the minerals use tax on natural gas to 315 rubles per 1000 cu. m. in 2008, to 480 rubles in 2009, and to 735 rubles in 2010, which will be a 500-percent increase. Gazprom responded that it considers raising the tax in line with inflation acceptable.
www.kommersant.com
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Photo: Vitaly Grabar
