ExxonMobil are exempted from paying 10% GST from all goods and services purchased locally. How foolish are our MPs to allow ExxonMobil, the company owned by the wealthiest nation USA to ask PNG governmen- a poor nation to give them exemption. What a shame for Arthur Somare son of Michael Somare to entertain the bill. I think all policemen and defence personnel deserve GST exemption.
Papua New Guinea’s former Treasurer Bart Philemon says the government’s move to give participants in the Liquified Natural Gas project exemption from paying income tax is a dangerous precedent which deprives the country of revenue.
Parliament passed laws yesterday to exempt the interest withholding tax and GST from the Exxon Mobil-led LNG project.
The laws passed were amendments to the Income Tax Act, and the Goods and Services Tax Act.
The Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare has defended the amendments, saying they had been negotiated over a two-year period to bring in the investor.
But Mr Philemon says granting exemption on income tax was unnecessary.
“If you amend the Tax Act it means that a precedent is set for any other investors in big mining and so forth can also request the same treatment.”
Bart Philemon
Sir Michael says the Government is jealously guarding the 30 percent corporate tax, which he claims will reap PNG a lot of benefits.
Lae MP Bart Philemon and Sir Mekere Morauta voted for the Bill to Exempt ExxonMobil from paying GST to PNG Government. They failed to oppose the bill at Parliament. They are both naive and hypocrit. They both **** white meri.
I think we should be debating on the ExxonMobil GST exemption Bill. This is the issue affecting every Papua New Guinean everyday from the top to the bottom grassroots. We all pay GST on everything we purchase everyday accept medication/doctors bill. Are we being sidetracked this issue to the OC Bill (Maladina Bill???)?
ExxonMobil's profit increased by 41% last year compared to 2009. ExxonMobil is owned by the richest country and citizen's. Why did poor country like PNG give exmption to a rich company. Please please do something to make them pay tax like everyone. Arthur, Agiru, O'Niel, Duma, Pruitch, Temo and Embel who were members of the GAS Ministerial Committee to allow Exxonmobil exempt from pay all forms of Tax except Company Tax on profit.
Stop acting ignorant. ExxonMobil is not owned by any country. It has no borders. It does whatever it wants and gets what it pleases. Like in this case.
Miners,Loggers,fisheries,cheap pirated imports, etc etc........?
It seems any foreign entity that invests here has SPECIAL TREATMENT. EXEMPT TAXES ( GST,IMPORT/EXPORT DUTIES, ETC....),WORK PERMITS,ACCESS TO AIRPORTS AND OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. The average PNG is treated like a second class citizen and struggles to access any basic services unless we PAY THE SO CALLED LUNCH MONEY. Most other societies will protect there citizens and offer incentives for them to get ahead in life. Not here, we give that to foreigners who UNDERPAY,SUPPRESS,EXPLOIT OUR PEOPLE, so we have become BEGGARS in our own land.
The arrogance that these foreigners bring with them is disrespectful and insulting.
When are we going to create the framework that PNGs can participate fairly and productively to developed our abundant riches for our citizens?
The ASIAN INVASION of illegal people and there MAFIAS is creating huge conflicts and causing much friction. A few PNGS are benefitting from the under the table payments whilst the rest of the nation is being marginalised and sent under the poverty line. And our so called "LEADERS SEEM TO BE CONTENT WITH THIS AS LONG AS THERE POCKETS ARE BEING WELL OILED CONTINOUSLY".
The above are all important ingredients for what we are seeing today with much unrest and confusion with our people.
We the rural people ( 80% of the population ) are suffering the most and many of our brothers and sisters will become refugees in our own country.
This cannot be allowed to happen.
Change has to be made and we need to get control of our nation. Outside forces controll the PUPPETS ( our leaders) who have made personal greed and power there GOD at the expense of the average PNG.
ACT NOW PNG AND LET'S GET CONTROL OF OUR OWN DESTINY.
The first step to making change is to fight and argue against the attitude that allows all these companies to get away with paying so little for our resources.
That attitude is that these companies are "bringing us development" or "bringing us jobs". The companies know that they can say both these things to PNGs from the top to the bottom and everyone believes it like a sucker. They don't seem to understand that we're only getting jobs to dig up and ship out the most valuable of our resources for other countries to turn into finished products and thus get by far the greatest economic benefit from.
We end up with toea on the kina of the full value of our resources once properly values.
Southern Highlanders, sadly, are still amongst the most gullible in believing these promises of development. But how much money have they received and still you see little sign of change in their area. The same story, however, is true for many many logging sites in the lowlands.
In all cases, the resources are going, going, or already gone. And nothing came out of it except for the big discount we gave those companies to come take everything away from us.
ExxonMobil is a company owned by the rich yet not paying a single tax to PNG economy is a shameful. The PNG LNG Contract signed in May 2008 fully endorsed by Arthur and Agiru robbed PNG goverment and people billions of kina.
Why are you most educated PNGean keeping silent on this issue? Many of our LNG landowners do are not educated and do not understand this too, though it robbed PNG.
ExxonMobil's profits are unbelievable compared to the PNG entire national government budget. ExxonMobil is not in PNG to help PNG. The moment ExxonMobil has made the big money it expects to from PNG's gas, it will be gone, selling the scraps to some company like OilSearch.
Net PROFIT (not income):
2005: $36.13 billion US dollars
2006: $39.50 billion US dollars
2007: $40.61 billion US dollars
2008: $45.22 billion US dollars
2009: $19.28 billion US dollars
2010: $30.46 billion US dollars
US dollar = 0.4 PNG kina, so divide any of the above numbers by 0.4 to get the total profit in kina.
It's not only Exxon Mobil but ALL foreign companies that are doing LNG related work such as CCJV, Spiecapag, etc, etc.. so PNG is really missing out big time in a way (ie. in tems of short term cash flow). For Exxon, they don't give a damn of this 10% GST cause they will just pass the cost on to the consumer. If this is done, our product becomes more expensive on the world market and we lose out on the world market share.
However, I think there are other long term non-immediate benefits that outweigh this short term 10% GST such as world class infrastructure & HR development as well as job creation which we really cannot put a monetary value on. It is up to NRI to actually find out the "value" that Exxon and other companies are bringing in for any fruitful debate to be further made.
GST exemption can also be good for local companies because if you own a company that deals with the LNG related companies, you can claim tax credit every month from your tax returns form IRC because your tax output (payables) will be greater than your tax inputs (receivables)which are practically nil because the LNG companies you deal with can't be invoiced for tax.
My friend, you're generalizing too much on your economics. Any nonrenewable natural resources like gas could be overpriced and lose market share for a short time. However, in the end its the countries that hold onto their nonrenewable natural resources as long as possible that will make, by far, the most money. It's a sellers market, not a buyers market for nonrenewable resources, thus any market share loss will only be temporary.
Of course, our PNG is determined to get those resources out of the ground as quick as possible so they can be sold while the price is low and PNG will receive the least benefit.
No wonder we're being invaded by these companies olsem ol lan blo sting abus. By the time they're done our country is going to look like a piece of packing foam - completely filled full of holes from corner to corner. All our nonrenewable resources are being pulled out and taken away before the big increase in prices that is going to come as the earth runs out of all the accessible resources.
