Executive director of TNK German Khan (center), vice- president of BP Rodert Dudley (left) and chairman of the TNK governance board Viktor Vekselberg
Photo: Dmitry Dukhanin
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Tax Claims against TNK-BP Cut by 100 Times
Moscow’s arbitration court brought down tax claims against TNK for 2001 to 40 million rubles from 4 billion. Thus, the company's consolidated dept now amounts to 7.02 billion. After TNK-BP clears it off, the company’s Russian shareholders, Alfa Group and Access/Renova, will apparently have to pay the sum back.
Last December, the Federal Tax Service leveled the back tax claims against TNK for 2001 of 4 billion rubles worth. TNK-BP went to the Moscow Court of Arbitration. This August, the oil company received a notification from the tax service on another tax claim for 2001 to the sum of 6.98 billion rubles and paid it out immediately without appealing but said it would challenge the earlier received 4-billion-worth claims.
Legally, TNK does not exist as it joined TNK-BP in 2003. The latter still pays out back taxes for 2001. 50 percent of the company is owned by the British-US BP, while 50 percent is shared by Russian Alfa Group and Access/Renova. The agreement on setting up TNK-BP implied the individual responsibility for the companies’ activities, prior to the merger.
TNK-BP spokesman said the company would not challenge yesterday’s ruling but he admitted that the federal tax service may appeal. Analysts call the drop in the tax claims against TNK good news not only for the oil giant but for the Russian business on the whole.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 05, 2005
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