DOF Bucks Amendments To Tax Laws Governing Oil Industry

Amid the tax predicaments raised by Petron on its refining business, the Department of Finance (DOF) indicated that it is not amenable to proposed tweaks in the country’s tax laws as applied to the supply chain of the downstream oil sector.

- Myrna M. Velasco

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said “we don’t need to change our tax laws on this,” while stressing that refinery closures are happening worldwide because margins are getting squeezed.

“Big oil companies have been shutting down their refineries in various parts of the world,” the finance chief noted.

He expounded that in a refinery business, “there may be market and timing issues – such as importing crude at a high price, then after refining, world crude prices might be lower, thus, refining margins could be lower.”