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Friday, June 10, 2011

Colombia Passes Plan to Distribute Oil, Coal Tax Revenue

Jun 10, 2011 2:41 AM GMT+0530
By Heather Walsh and Andrea Jaramillo

Colombia’s Congress passed a law to modify distribution of taxes on commodities to allow a greater swathe of the nation to benefit from rising revenue.

The law enables provinces that don’t produce oil and coal to receive more funding for investments, Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry told reporters today in Bogota.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said after taking office last year that the change will help the government finance construction of roads, ports and technology projects and accumulate savings. Colombia is South America’s largest producer of coal and its third-largest supplier of oil.

The government will earmark 10 percent of the tax revenue for technology and innovation projects, Santos said in May.

Government inroads against guerrilla groups have improved security in the Andean nation, luring investors including billionaires Eike Batista and Carlos Slim, whose Grupo Carso SAB stepped into Colombian oil exploration this year.

Colombia may produce 1.7 million barrels of crude and natural gas a day in 2020, “closing in” on Brazil, South America’s second-largest producer after Venezuela, Energy and Mines Minister Carlos Rodado said in an interview in April. (sourced Bloomberg)


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