Kommersant learned about the idea to postpone tax breaks for oil companies

The Ministry of Finance proposes to postpone for three years the introduction of tax incentives for depleted deposits that have switched from 2021 to an additional income tax (ATD). About it writes Kommersant, citing three sources. The Finance Ministry declined to comment.

We are talking about a deduction of 20% from the mineral extraction tax (MET) rate for sites with depleted reserves of more than 80%, which are included in the perimeter of the third group of AIT. The benefit was supposed to be earned from 2024. According to the interlocutors of the newspaper, the department’s proposal to transfer the benefit is highly likely to be accepted.

The introduction of a deduction for oil companies was promised after depriving developed fields of MET benefits and their transition to AIT. The Ministry of Finance carried out such a tax reform in 2020.

According to the calculations of the chief economist of Vygon Consulting Sergey Yezhov, the transfer of the deduction will increase the budget revenue from the mineral extraction tax by 1.15 trillion rubles. over three years, but revenues will be offset by 60% by a reduction in income from AIT and income tax. Thus, the total budgetary effect will be about 460 billion rubles. for three years.

According to Kommersant, the Ministry of Finance is actively looking for ways to replenish the budget, as it cannot collect the planned oil and gas revenues due to the lower than expected price of Urals. From January to May 2023, they decreased by 50% compared to the same period in 2022. The budget deficit is 3 trillion rubles.

In addition to the transfer of benefits for depleted deposits, among the government’s ideas are the adjustment of the damper from September 1 and the establishment of new parameters for the maximum discount of Urals to Brent for tax purposes.

Earlier, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov said that the Cabinet of Ministers could submit such a bill to the State Duma in June. According to the newspaper, disagreements remain between oil companies and the Ministry of Finance on adjusting the Urals discount.

The Tax Code states that in April the maximum discount was $34/bbl, in May – $31/bbl, in June – $28/bbl, and from July until the end of the year – $25/bbl. Kommersant writes that from September the Ministry of Finance wants to reduce the maximum discount to $20/bbl. At the same time, in May the real discount was $22/bbl. According to one of the sources in the oil companies, it will be extremely difficult to pay a discount even more.