PRESS: Novatek asks govt to delay additional tax for Yamal LNG

MOSCOW, Apr 11 (PRIME) -- Gas producer Novatek has asked the government for permission to delay payment of 40 billion rubles of an additional profit tax for 2022 for the Yamal LNG liquefied natural gas project, arising from a new Finance Ministry approach to accounting for exchange rate differences, until the end of 2023 and to reduce the rate, business daily Kommersant reported on Tuesday citing sources.

"The Novatek Yamal LNG project faced a profit tax increase for 2022 by 40 billion rubles because of new Finance Ministry’s clarifications on the exchange rate difference accounting. This amount may be charged additionally to an increase of the profit tax on LNG projects to 34% from 2023, which, according to Novatek, undermines the financing of promising projects Arctic LNG-2 and Obsky LNG," the newspaper reported.

In a letter to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, CEO Leonid Mikhelson asked the government not to include in the taxation base positive exchange rates of the Novatek companies that pay an elevated profit tax from 2023, such as Yamal LNG.

Novatek and the Finance Ministry declined to comment.

(81.7441 rubles – U.S. $1)

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