Kazakhstan to announce details of metals export duty by end-April UPDATE
04.18.08, 10:14 AM ET
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ASTANA, Kazakhstan (Thomson Financial) - Kazakhstan plans to announce details of a proposed export duty on its metals and mining industry by the end of this month, Interfax reported, citing remarks by deputy finance minister Daulet Yergozhin.
Yergozhin added that the tariff was not likely to exceed 7 percent.
'If the Russians have an export duty of 5 percent to 7 percent, then we should also talk about this as the maximum,' he said.
He added that government officials were currently calculating the size of the tariff.
He did not provide any details on which products would be taxed.
His comments helped push shares in two Kazak-based FTSE 100 miners lower.
At 1:45 p.m., Kazakhmys Plc. was down 113 pence, or 6.6 percent, at 1,720p, while Eurasian Natural Resources Corp was down 69p, or 5.4 percent, at 1,203p.
A spokesman for Kazakhmys said: 'We note the press comments on this matter. If the Kazakh government does propose any changes to the tax regime we are sure there will be full dialogue on this with the relevant parties.'
'We believe the Kazakh government has always taken a very commercial approach to tax matters and that it will ensure that important sectors of the Kazakh economy will remain globally competitive.'
Yergozhin also said Kazakhstan's corporate income tax might be lowered, and that the new export duty would help to balance out the government's revenue.
'If the Economics Ministry tells us that the corporate income tax will be 20 percent, then the export duty rate will be at a certain level; if (the corporate income tax) is 15 percent, then it will be at another level; if the corporate income tax remains unchanged, then it will be at a third level,' Yergozhin said.
However, he added that the metals and mining export duty should be less than the recently introduced oil export duty.
Earlier this month the Central Asian nation said it would impose an export duty of $109.91 on every tonne of exported crude.
Kazakhstan is a major exporter of commodities including oil, iron ore, copper, coal, uranium and zinc.
alfred.kueppers@thomsonreuters.com |
