BEIJING, Feb 10 - China may consider raising the oil-price threshold for firms facing windfall taxes, from $40 a barrel to $60, as part of proposals to help companies in the petroleum and chemical sectors, a business paper said on Tuesday.
Introduced in 2006, the windfall tax covers all oil produced in China and sold for more than $40 a barrel. It is assessed on a sliding scale of 20 to 40 percent.
Top oil firm CNPC, the parent of PetroChina (0857.HK)(PTR.N) (601857.SS), was reported to have paid a record 85 billion yuan ($12.44 billion), or 62.42 percent of its profit in 2008, in windfall taxes to the central government.
The reflief proposals also include subsidies to CNPC and Sinopec Group, the parent of Sinopec Corp (0386.HK)(600028.SS)(SNP.N), to compensate for refining losses last year caused by record crude oil costs and low state-set fuel prices, the China Business News reported.
Earnings at both Sinopec Corp and PetroChina were sharply lower in the first half of 2008 from the previous year due to hefty refining losses.
But the newspaper report warned it was not certain whether the tax and subsidy proposals would be included in the final version of a stimulus plan for the petrochemical sector that will be submitted to the State Council, China's cabinet.
The stimulus plan would also likely include 100 billion yuan in investments to upgrade the quality of oil products and 400 billion yuan for the construction of dozens of new petrochemical projects, state media had reported.
Introduced in 2006, the windfall tax covers all oil produced in China and sold for more than $40 a barrel. It is assessed on a sliding scale of 20 to 40 percent.
Top oil firm CNPC, the parent of PetroChina (0857.HK)(PTR.N) (601857.SS), was reported to have paid a record 85 billion yuan ($12.44 billion), or 62.42 percent of its profit in 2008, in windfall taxes to the central government.
The reflief proposals also include subsidies to CNPC and Sinopec Group, the parent of Sinopec Corp (0386.HK)(600028.SS)(SNP.N), to compensate for refining losses last year caused by record crude oil costs and low state-set fuel prices, the China Business News reported.
Earnings at both Sinopec Corp and PetroChina were sharply lower in the first half of 2008 from the previous year due to hefty refining losses.
But the newspaper report warned it was not certain whether the tax and subsidy proposals would be included in the final version of a stimulus plan for the petrochemical sector that will be submitted to the State Council, China's cabinet.
The stimulus plan would also likely include 100 billion yuan in investments to upgrade the quality of oil products and 400 billion yuan for the construction of dozens of new petrochemical projects, state media had reported.
