Mining and petroleum tax revenue plunge

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, November 8, 2015 (PNG)

WITH adjustments made in the 2015 Supplementary Budget due to the year’s economic downturn, mining and petroleum figures showed through with plunged figures posted by the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC).

Reduction in mining and petroleum tax- the estimate for 2015 has gone from K1.7 billion estimated revenue projection to K300million to end 2015.

With the contractions in the mining and oil price and the contributing onslaught of the El Nino weather phenomenon affecting key mineral projects like the Ok Tedi mine- treasury and IRC have said that the figures stand for terrible year in the sector.

“The K1.4 billion drop is what it is and it has been a terrible year. These are the number that are coming in,” Treasury Secretary Dairi Vele said.

“For the first round (quarterly tax payments) we got K37 million, second K11 million, then K150 million and towards the back end of the year K200 million or K100 million.”

“It’s just been a difficult year, I think the production issues have also started to kick in, Ok Tedi slowing down is a very big issue going from actively producing to actively selling to not selling and not producing.”

IRC Commissioner Betty Palaso explained the projection indicators rest in the first two instalment, which were poor.

“The first instalment is a very good indication of what the next two installments will be so the first installment was very low to the projection and likewise we’ve seen the same outcome in the second and third installment has been paid in now,” Palaso said.

“We have noted a large amount of variations they have made cost issues to projects but the figures are what they are and that is what we are going with.”