The Ministry of Finance proposed to postpone the introduction of tax incentives for depleted deposits for three years
[ad_1]
As it became known to Kommersant, against the backdrop of the need to replenish the budget, the Ministry of Finance wants to deprive depleted fields, which account for more than a quarter of oil production in the Russian Federation, of tax benefits. We are talking about a deduction from the MET in the amount of 20%, which was supposed to earn in 2024. According to Kommersant’s sources, the Ministry of Finance proposes to postpone the effective date of the deduction by three years. According to experts, the transfer could bring the budget about 460 billion rubles. within three years. However, such a measure may significantly affect the plans of oil companies to invest in depleted assets.
The Ministry of Finance proposed to postpone the introduction of tax incentives for depleted deposits that have switched from 2021 to an additional income tax (ATD) for three years, three sources told Kommersant. Such benefits were to be earned from 2024 in the form of a deduction of 20% of the MET rate for sites with depleted reserves of more than 80%, which are included in the perimeter of the third group of AIT. The Finance Ministry declined to comment.
The depleted fields, which account for more than a quarter of oil production in the Russian Federation, were forced to switch to AIT after the 2020 tax reform. At that time, the Ministry of Finance deprived such deposits of large severance tax benefits, but provided the opportunity to switch to severance tax. At the same time, oil companies were promised and enshrined in the Tax Code additional benefits from 2024 – in the form of a deduction from the MET in the amount of 20%. At that time, the experts of Vygon Consulting estimated the losses of the operating cash flow of the fields at 89–113 billion rubles. in 2021–2023.
AIT is a new tax for the oil industry (introduced in 2019 in a pilot mode), which was originally conceived to replace the MET to stimulate production from new and mature fields with high costs.
The idea is to, unlike the MET, levy a tax not on the volume of oil production, but on the financial result – revenue minus expenses (at a rate of 50%). Although the AIT was originally conceived as a single tax, in reality its formula differs significantly for different groups of deposits, now there are five such groups.
The transfer of the deduction to 20% will increase the proceeds from the MET by 1.15 trillion rubles. over three years, but these revenues will be offset by 60% by a reduction in income from AIT and income tax (since the financial result of the fields will worsen due to an increase in direct production tax), Sergey Yezhov, chief economist at Vygon Consulting, calculated.
Thus, according to his estimate, the total budgetary effect will be approximately 460 billion rubles. for three years. The volume of production from depleted deposits is about 140 million tons per year, and, according to the expert, as a result, operating cash flow from such assets will decrease by 1.1 thousand rubles. per ton of oil produced.
Interlocutors of “Kommersant” believe that the proposals of the Ministry of Finance to transfer benefits with a high probability will be accepted. The transfer of the exemption may be one of the key factors in deciding on further investments in fields whose financial model has been working under the conditions of the exemption since 2024, Olesya Nikiforova from Kept believes.
The Ministry of Finance is now actively looking for ways to replenish the budget at a time when it cannot collect the planned oil and gas revenues due to the lower than expected price of Urals. Over the five months of 2023, oil and gas revenues decreased by 50% compared to the previous year, and the budget deficit is 3 trillion rubles.
The government is discussing several ideas on how to increase the tax burden on the oil industry. Among them, in addition to the transfer of benefits for depleted deposits, is also the adjustment of the damper from September 1 (will give 30 billion rubles per month) and the establishment of new parameters for the maximum discount of Urals to Brent for tax purposes. Deputy head of the ministry Alexei Sazanov expressed confidence that in June the government would be able to submit a relevant bill to the State Duma.
The main disagreements between the Ministry of Finance and oil companies, according to Kommersant, relate to the adjustment of the Urals discount. Since April, at the initiative of the Ministry of Finance, the discount has been fixed at $34 per barrel with a gradual decrease, and from July the maximum discount will be $25. If the price of Brent, minus the discount, is higher than the actual price of Urals, then oil companies must pay taxes based on the former. The Ministry of Finance wants to reduce the maximum discount to $20 per barrel from September.
In May, the real discount was $22 per barrel, and, according to one of Kommersant’s sources in oil companies, it will be extremely difficult for them to cut the discount even further. The government, according to Kommersant, continues to discuss this issue.
[ad_2]
Source link