據(jù)倫敦金融城早報(bào)4月6日?qǐng)?bào)道，能源巨頭殼牌去年在北海的石油和天然氣生產(chǎn)沒(méi)有繳稅，盡管全球能源危機(jī)使其利潤(rùn)飆升至逾190億美元。

這家總部位于倫敦的公司獲得了與北海舊石油平臺(tái)退役有關(guān)的退稅，這意味著該公司在2021年從英國(guó)財(cái)政部獲得了1.318億美元，這是昨日公布的該公司向英國(guó)政府支付款項(xiàng)的細(xì)節(jié)。

2016年，時(shí)任財(cái)政大臣的喬治 奧斯本(George Osborne)對(duì)稅收規(guī)則進(jìn)行了修改，他希望在油價(jià)暴跌的情況下大幅削減退役石油項(xiàng)目的成本。

這些變化的目的是增加對(duì)該行業(yè)的投資，并激勵(lì)企業(yè)結(jié)束其業(yè)務(wù)。殼牌最大的退役項(xiàng)目是布倫特油氣田，由4個(gè)石油平臺(tái)組成。

殼牌披露這一消息之際，活動(dòng)人士和政界人士正要求對(duì)這些能源巨頭征收暴利稅，此前不斷飆升的能源價(jià)格讓它們?cè)谌ツ戢@得了豐厚利潤(rùn)。

英國(guó)工黨前黨魁、前能源與氣候變化大臣埃德·米利班德(Ed Miliband)表示:“殼牌去年從納稅人那里得到了數(shù)百萬(wàn)美元，同時(shí)享受著近200億美元的創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄利潤(rùn)，這一事實(shí)比以往任何時(shí)候都更清楚，政府應(yīng)該要求它們支付公平的份額。”

殼牌表示，自1976年投產(chǎn)以來(lái)，政府從其最大的北海布倫特(Brent)油氣田獲得了200億英鎊的稅收收入，而且它收到的總退款將“大大低于已繳納的稅款”。

季廷偉 摘譯自 倫敦金融城早報(bào)

原文如下：

Shell goes tax free in the North Sea after ￡100m government refund

Energy giant Shell paid no tax on its North Sea oil and gas production last year even as the global energy crunch saw it profits soar to more than $19bn.

The London-headquartered firm bagged tax refunds relating to the decommissioning of old oil platforms in the North Sea, meaning it received $131.8m from the UK treasury in 2021, according to details of its payments to government released yesterday.

Changes to the tax rules were introduced in 2016 by then-chancellor George Osborne, who looked to slash the cost of decommissioning oil projects amid plunging prices.

The changes were aimed at increasing investment into the industry and incentivising firms to wind down their operations. Shell’s largest decommissioning project is the Brent oil and gasfield, consisting of four oil platforms.

The disclosure from Shell comes amid demand from campaigners and politicians for a windfall tax to be slapped on the energy majors, after soaring energy prices saw them rake in bumper profits last year.

Ed Miliband, Labour’s shadow secretary for climate change, said: “The fact that Shell is receiving millions from the taxpayer whilst enjoying near record profits of almost $20 billion last year makes it clearer than ever that they should be required by the government to pay their fair share.”

Shell says the government has received ￡20bn in tax revenues from its largest North Sea  Brent oil and gasfield since it started producing in 1976, and that the total refunds it receives will be “significantly less than the tax payments made”.