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Total to pay back taxes to Venezuela: tax official
AFP
CARACAS
Petroleumworld.com 03 29 06French oil giant Total agreed to pay millions in back taxes that the Venezuelan government has demanded for months, a tax authority official said Tuesday.
Jose Joaquin Cedillo, an official with the Seniat tax agency, did not say how much Total's payment would amount to, but Venezuela has demanded 108 million dollars in back taxes, interest and fines from the firm. The amount covers the 2001-2004 period.
Since mid-2005, Seniat has been pressuring the 22 foreign oil companies operating in Venezuela to make additional payments to satisfy the 2001 move by leftist President Hugo Chavez's government to raise the income tax rate to 50 percent from 36 percent.
Cedillo, quoted by the state news agency ABN, said Total would pay its taxes on Wednesday and that others were expected to follow suit this week.
Seniat says foreign firms owe two billion dollars in back taxes and that it has recovered 54 million dollars so far.
AFP 28 03 06 2151 GMTCopyright © 1994-2006 Agence France-Presse. All Rights Reserved.
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