Venezuelan state grasps 70.9 percent of 2006 Pdvsa income
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| The state-run oil holding spent USD 11.9 billion last year in social development (File photo) |
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Since 2004, USD 80.2 billion on account of oil revenues has been transferred by means of taxes and for the social welfare programs bolstered by the government of President Hugo Chávez in multiple areas, including education, health care, power supply and transportation
MARIANNA PÁRRAGA
EL UNIVERSAL
The overwhelming increase in the input by state-run oil holding
Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) in 2006, to USD 11.9 billion
raised the percentage of oil revenues that ended in the hands
of the Venezuelan state, both as taxes and contributions to
social welfare programs.
While in the 2006 balance sheet, audited by accounting firm
Alcaraz, Cabrera & Vásquez, this input was not recorded
in a consolidated way, Minister of Energy and Petroleum and
Pdvsa CEO Rafael Ramírez noted during his address to
stockholders that out of the USD 55.2 billion that entered
Pdvsa chests last year from exports and operations in the
domestic market, USD 39.2 billion, or 70.9 percent, landed
in the State pockets.
These numbers mark a significant increase compared with 2005,
when Pdvsa gave the State a total of USD 25 billion both for
taxes and social welfare. This rise is even higher as compared
to 2004, where Pdvsa transferred USD 16.4 billion on this
account.
Measured as a percentage of additional income, Pdvsa total
input to the State has grown steadily: from 47.9 percent in
2004 to 54.7 percent in 2005, and then to 70.9 percent in
2006.
Over the past three years, Pdvsa input to the State accounts
for, in the aggregate, the significant amount of USD 80.6
billion.
Everywhere
Most of the USD 39.2 billion provided by Pdvsa to the
Executive in 2006 accounted for royalties, that is, USD 17.5
billion. However, the income tax took USD 7.5 billion, significantly
over the numbers reflected in the audited balance sheet. This
shows that international accounting standards were used in
the financial statements to estimate the tax. In the practice,
however, it seems that a different method is used and that
increases the contribution, perhaps by deducting otherwise
the item for social welfare programs.
In addition to these outlays, Pdvsa paid USD 797 million
on account of exploitation taxes, USD 1.3 billion in dividends
and USD 11.9 billion in social development. The latter was
64.5 percent higher than the numbers recorded in 2005 and
different from the entry in the balance sheet.
Translated by Conchita Delgado
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