Bloomberg, 21.06.10,Kazakhstan May Resume Oil-Export Tax, Finance Ministry Says

Kazakhstan plans to resume an export tax on crude oil and begin the levy for certain metals to increase government revenue.

Shipments of copper, zinc and gold will be taxed if the proposal goes forward, Finance Ministry spokeswoman Anna Zhekenova said by telephone today. She didn’t specify when the levies may start, at what rates or which metals may be exempt.

Kazakhstan, holder of 3 percent of the world’s proved oil reserves at the end of 2009, according to BP Plc, began taxing crude exports in May 2008 to raise cash amid a tightening of global credit markets.

The duty was cut to zero in January 2009 for the producers that were targeted, which numbered about 40 and included the BG Group Plc and Eni SpA-led Karachaganak venture, KazMunaiGas Exploration & Production, TOO Zhaikmunai and AO PetroKazakhstan.

Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov told lawmakers in Astana that a new budget plan for 2010 and 2011 will include revenue from export duties on certain mineral resources if the lawmakers will support the taxes, Novosti-Kazakhstan reported today. The budget plans are set to be presented in September, Masimov said, according to the news service.

Kazakhmys Plc and AO Kazzinc, a unit of Glencore International AG, are Kazakhstan’s largest copper and zinc producers, respectively.