Giant oil and mining firms could be forced to reveal the precise amounts of tax they pay in each country in which they operate. The move has been heralded as a major breakthrough that could end a widespread culture of corporate secrecy and alleged corruption.
Tax
Mining and oil face world tax exposure
Shell Says Nigerian Oil Charges May Erode Investor Confidence
May 27 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc's Nigeria venture said proposed changes by the government to retroactively amend production agreements may deter investment in the nation.
Tax bills hit Exxon and Shell
Nigeria is demanding Shell and ExxonMobil pay a combined total of almost $2bn (£1bn) in unpaid taxes and revenues after a review of contracts covering huge offshore oilfields signed in the early 1990s.
Big companies rue loss of ‘easy oil’
Never have so many oil and gas companies spent so much to produce so little. That's the challenge facing Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Chevron, Total SA and ConocoPhillips, which will spend a record US$98.7 billion ($127.41 billion) this year on exploration and production, Lehman Brothers Holdings estimates.
Venezuela windfall tax to delay investment: Shell
The imposition of a new windfall oil profits tax will delay a planned expansion of Royal Dutch Shell Plc's operations in Venezuela, a Shell executive said Tuesday.
Tax evasion by Royal Dutch Shell and other multinational corporations ‘costs lives of 5.6m children’
Christian Aid says that the extent of tax abuse "is so widespread and damaging that it is tantamount to a new slavery...
"The inescapable fact is that there are only four reasons for banking 'offshore': to avoid tax, to evade tax, to function in secret, to sidestep regulations controlling financial services or monopolistic practices. In each scenario, the pursuit of profit outweighs all other considerations, including good citizenship and social responsibility".
Gas tax holiday plan fuels rivalry
According to a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 44 per cent of Americans view rising petrol prices as a "serious problem", making it the country's top economic concern.
Brown warned about corporate exodus to lower tax regimes
Other companies switching jurisdictions include Experian, Hiscox, Invesco, Omega and Royal Dutch Shell.
Shell move robs UK investors
The Sunday Times (UK): Shell move robs UK investors
“When the oil giant merged, British investors in the Dutch arm of the firm lost up to 25% of their holdings…”: “Many are elderly investors who have held the shares for decades and face tax bills of tens of thousands of pounds after their stock was converted into shares of the unified company, Royal Dutch Shell.”
Sunday 11 Sept 2005
When the oil giant merged, British investors in the Dutch arm of the firm lost up to 25% of their holdings, writes David Budworth
THOUSANDS of UK shareholders in Royal Dutch face an estimated £77m capital-gains-tax bill following its unification with Shell Transport & Trading, and the oil giant is being urged to offer compensation.
Many are elderly investors who have held the shares for decades and face tax bills of tens of thousands of pounds after their stock was converted into shares of the unified company, Royal Dutch Shell.
BBC NEWS: Venezuela-Shell tax row heats up
BBC NEWS: Venezuela-Shell tax row heats up
“Venezuelan tax authorities have closed a Royal Dutch Shell office for 48 hours and asked for an injunction on some of the oil firm’s assets in a tax dispute. The row centres on a $131m (£74m) bill for back taxes covering 2001-2004, presented to the oil giant in July.”
Saturday 13 August 2005
Venezuelan tax authorities have closed a Royal Dutch Shell office for 48 hours and asked for an injunction on some of the oil firm’s assets in a tax dispute. The row centres on a $131m (£74m) bill for back taxes covering 2001-2004, presented to the oil giant in July.
Venezuela’s tax authority said it had put a hold on Shell goods worth $131m and shut its office in Lake Maracaibo.
Shell is challenging the demand, which is part of a wider clampdown on alleged tax avoidance by foreign firms.
Daily Telegraph: Shell shows some sense
Daily Telegraph: Shell shows some sense
“At last, faint signs of common sense emerging from the Shell Lubyanka over the fate of the British shareholders in Royal Dutch.”
Saturday 13 August 2005
Shell may offer tax-efficient option to its rebel investors
At last, faint signs of common sense emerging from the Shell Lubyanka over the fate of the British shareholders in Royal Dutch.
Despite spending $115m in fees, Shell had resolutely ignored their plight.
The scheme to create Royal Dutch Shell has presented them with a taxable capital gain, even though they have not sold their shares.
The otherwise admirable Jeroen van der Veer, Shell’s new chief executive, had claimed that there was nothing in the toolbox which could help them.
Daily Telegraph: Van the Builder must Shell out for 3,000
Daily Telegraph: Van the Builder must Shell out for 3,000
“These shareholders have been treated shabbily. Yet Jeroen van der Veer, Shell’s chief executive, says there is nothing left in his tool-box to help them, which seems careless after spending $115m on advice.”
Saturday 9 July 2005
City comment
Edited by Neil Collins
(Filed: 09/07/2005)
Shell lowers threshold for merger to go through
More news from Shell, which is trying to merge its British and Dutch parts into a monolith called Royal Dutch Shell. The £100billion deal was proceeding smoothly until yesterday, when Shell suddenly cut the required level of acceptances for Dutch investors from 95pc to 75pc.
The company’s PR machine had no convincing explanation for this, but some of Shell’s army of observers reckon it betrays nerves, at least among the advisers. One difficulty is with the 3,000 British holders of Royal Dutch shares, who are being hit with a capital gains tax bill even though they are not selling, and rather than meekly accept and pay the tax – estimated at £177m between them – they are likely to sit on their hands and see what happens.