DOCSLIB.ORG

An Examination of Oil and Gas Taxation and Revenue Management in Ghana

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
An Examination of Oil and Gas Taxation and Revenue Management in Ghana AN EXAMINATION OF OIL AND GAS TAXATION AND REVENUE MANAGEMENT IN GHANA by ABDALLAH ALI-NAKYEA (Student Number: 12384373) A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN TAX POLICY in the FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES at the UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA SUPERVISOR: PROF R.C.D. FRANZSEN CO-SUPERVISOR: PROF A.K. FOSU June 2019 © University of Pretoria University of Pretoria DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY 1. I understand what plagiarism is and I am aware of the University’s policy in this regard. 2. I declare that this thesis is my own original work. Where other people’s work has been used (either from a printed source, the internet, or any other source), this has been properly acknowledged and referenced in accordance with university requirements. 3. I have not used work previously produced by another student or any other person to hand in as my own. 4. I have not allowed, and will not allow, anyone to copy my work with the intention of passing it off as his or her own work. _____________________________________ ABDALLAH ALI-NAKYEA i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I owe gratitude to the Almighty Allah for providing me with the strength and knowledge to complete this study. Many individuals and institutions in various ways made valuable contributions to the development of this research. I give my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to my supervisors Prof. Riël C.D. Franzsen and Prof. Augustin K. Fosu, for their comments, constructive criticism, suggestions, advice and the personal interest shown in the progress and completion of this study. Your guidance has made me a better researcher and academic, for which I remain entirely grateful. I thank my editors who had the patience to review and edit my research. My special thanks to my dear family for their support, encouragement and understanding throughout the period of my studies. My sincere appreciation and gratitude to all friends and colleagues who gave me the needed encouragement and support in the course of my research. To the directors, lawyers, consultants and staff of Ali-Nakyea & Associates, I say that without you this study would have come to a halt. May Allah richly bless you all for urging me to continue. I wish to thank the African Tax Institute (ATI), University of Pretoria, for the opportunity granted to me to undertake this research. I am indeed most grateful to all of the lecturers and staff of the ATI. ii SUMMARY Ghana’s discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities, in 2007, triggered a sense of optimism about the prospects for accelerated development in the country. However, pessimism about oil and gas revenues set in when the country ran into a liquidity crisis and, in 2014, it had to implore the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance. This development has spurred research interest into the taxation and management of revenue accruing from the oil and gas sector. However, to date most research on oil and gas taxation and revenues has been on economic development, with a dearth of focused studies in oil and gas taxation and revenue management from a legal perspective. This study fills this knowledge gap through an examination of oil and gas taxation and revenue management in Ghana. This thesis is qualitative by design, although quantitative data was used to highlight the revenue performance indicators from the oil and gas sector. The tax and revenue management policies and regulations of a number of oil-rich countries were briefly reviewed and compared to Ghana’s oil and gas taxation and revenue management legislation. For comparative purposes, relevant literature, fiscal legislation and data from four oil and gas producing countries - Nigeria, Norway, Canada and the United Kingdom – were also examined in some detail. A key finding is the noncompliance of the Government of Ghana with the provisions in the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), which potentially makes the occurrence of the “oil curse” in Ghana more likely. A major concern in the findings of this research shows differences in fiscal regime in Ghana relative to the regimes in the countries used for comparative purposes (i.e. the United Kingdom, Norway, Canada and Nigeria). Ghana’s oil and gas tax legislation is currently contained in different laws. This constitutes an unnecessary complication. The research recommends that the Government of Ghana put in place adequate measures, underpinned by appropriate legislation, to enable the retention and investment of its share of oil revenues, and also deal with oil revenue volatility. The Government of Ghana should design a long-term fiscal strategy, based upon high quality, long-term economic and revenue projections, which includes a sensitivity analysis. I also recommend that watchdog entities in the oil and gas environment, such as the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) and the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), spearhead calls for amendments to the PRMA. These amendments should be in the areas of accounting for the oil and gas revenues, iii setting up safeguards for the use of the revenues accrued from the oil and gas sector, as well as adhering strictly to the priority areas determined for the allocation of the petroleum revenues. This will allow for robust provisions and safety nets to be enshrined in oil and gas taxation and revenue management laws, to safeguard the revenue inflows for development. This will also constitute a check on the Government of Ghana against increasing its spending of petroleum revenues meant to contribute to the Ghana Stabilization Fund. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration of originality ............................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................ ii SUMMARY ................................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... xiv LIST OF FIGURES .....................................................................................................xv LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................. xvi CHAPTER 1 ..................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 1.1 BACKGROUND ...............................................................................................1 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM .................................................................5 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS .............................................8 1.4 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................8 1.5 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS .......................................................................9 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................10 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................10 2.1 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................10 2.2 TAXATION AND ITS CLASSIFICATION ...................................................10 2.2.1 What is Taxation and what is a Tax? ..............................................................10 2.2.2 Classification of Taxes .....................................................................................13 2.2.2.1 Classification of Taxes according to Tax Base ................................................13 2.2.2.2 Classification of Taxes by Nominal Source of Taxation .................................14 2.2.2.3 Classification of Taxes according to Incidence ...............................................15 2.3 ATTRIBUTES OF A GOOD TAX SYSTEM.................................................16 2.3.1 Equity ...............................................................................................................16 2.3.2 Certainty ...........................................................................................................17 v 2.3.3 Convenience .....................................................................................................17 2.3.4 Economy ..........................................................................................................17 2.4 TAX POLICY ..................................................................................................18 2.5 CHALLENGES OF TAX POLICY MAKERS ...............................................21 2.5.1 Dealing with Cross-cutting Structural Bottlenecks..........................................22 2.5.2 Narrow Tax Base .............................................................................................22 2.5.3 Unbalanced Tax Policy Mix ............................................................................23 2.6 DESIGNING TAX POLICY FOR THE OIL AND GAS SECTOR ...............23 2.6.1 Royalties ..........................................................................................................33 2.6.2 Resource Rent Tax ...........................................................................................34 2.6.3 Tax/Royalty Regimes.......................................................................................38
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Press Release
    Press Release First quarter 2021 results With results of more than $3 billion, Total fully benefits from rebound in hydrocarbon prices LNG and renewables represent one-third of results Change Change 1Q21 1Q20 1Q19 vs 1Q20 vs 1Q19 Oil price - Brent ($/b) 61.1 50.1 +22% 63.1 -3% Average price of LNG ($/Mbtu) 6.1 6.3 -4% 7.2 -16% Variable cost margin - Refining Europe, VCM ($/t) 5.3 26.3 -80% 33.0 -84% Adjusted net income (Group share)1 - in billions of dollars (B$) 3.0 1.8 69% 2.8 +9% - in dollars per share 1.10 0.66 +68% 1.02 +8% DACF1 (B$) 5.8 4.3 +34% 6.3 -8% Cash Flow from operations (B$) 5.6 1.3 x4.3 3.6 +54% Net income (Group share) of 3.3 B$ in 1Q21 Net-debt-to-capital ratio of 19.5% at March 31, 2021 vs. 21.7% at December 31, 20202 Hydrocarbon production of 2,863 kboe/d in 1Q21, a decrease of 7% compared to 1Q20 First 2021 interim dividend set at 0.66 €/share 2 Paris, April 29, 2021 - The Board of Directors of Total SE, meeting on April 28, 2021, under the chairmanship of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanné, approved the Group's first quarter 2021 accounts. On this occasion, Patrick Pouyanné said: « In the first quarter, the Group fully benefited from rising oil and gas prices, up 38% and 24%, respectively quarter-to- quarter, and its strategy to grow LNG and Renewables and Electricity.
    [Show full text]
  • Governing Petroleum Resources Prospects and Challenges for Tanzania
    Governing Petroleum Resources Prospects and Challenges for Tanzania Edited by Odd-Helge Fjeldstad • Donald Mmari • Kendra Dupuy Governing Petroleum Resources: Prospects and Challenges for Tanzania Edited by Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, Donald Mmari and Kendra Dupuy Content Editors iv Acknowledgements v Contributors vi Forewords xi Abbreviations xiv Part I: Becoming a petro-state: An overview of the petroleum sector in Tanzania 1 Governing Petroleum Resources: 1. Petroleum resources, institutions and politics: An introduction to the book Prospects and Challenges for Tanzania Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, Donald Mmari and Kendra Dupuy 4 2. The evolution and current status of the petroleum sector in Tanzania Donald Mmari, James Andilile and Odd-Helge Fjeldstad 13 PART II: The legislative framework and fiscal management of the petroleum sector 23 3. The legislative landscape of the petroleum sector in Tanzania James Andilile, Odd-Helge Fjeldstad and Donald Mmari 26 4. An overview of the fiscal systems for the petroleum sector in Tanzania Donald Mmari, James Andilile, Odd-Helge Fjeldstad and Aslak Orre 35 5. Is the current fiscal regime suitable for the development of Tanzania’s offshore gas reserves? Copyright © Chr. Michelsen Institute 2019 James Andilile, Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, Donald Mmari and Aslak Orre 42 Copyright © Repoa 2019 6. Negotiating Tanzania’s gas future: What matters for investment and government revenues? Thomas Scurfield and David Manley 49 CMI 7. Uncertain potential: Managing Tanzania’s gas revenues P. O. Box 6033 Thomas Scurfield and David Mihalyi 59 N-5892 Bergen 8. Non-resource taxation in a resource-rich setting Norway Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, Cornel Jahari, Donald Mmari and Ingrid Hoem Sjursen 66 [email protected] 9.
    [Show full text]
  • Alaska's Oil and Gas Fiscal Regime
    Alaska’s Oil and Gas Fiscal Regime – A Closer Look from a Global Perspective A l A s k A D e pA r t m e n t o f r e v e n u e Alaska Department of Revenue – Commissioner’s Office January 2012 STATE OF ALASKA Governor Sean Parnell ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE Bryan D. Butcher, Commissioner Cover Photo: Alaska Stock; the Central Gas Facility (CGF), Prudhoe Bay Oilfield This report can be downloaded at: www.dor.alaska.gov/acloserlook.pdf TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................. 1 Establish a peer group for the comparison of Alaska’s fiscal system. Hydrocarbon endowment .......................................................... 3 Compare Alaska’s oil and gas production, reserves, and undiscovered resource with its peer group. Lease sales .................................................................................... 8 Review Alaska’s competitive oil and gas leasing program including a short summary of historical activity. Exploration and development activity ................................... 11 A historical perspective on oil and gas activity and employment in Alaska. Alaska’s oil and gas fiscal system ........................................... 19 Highlights of Alaska’s current fiscal system. Fiscal system comparisons ...................................................... 27 Compare Alaska’s oil and gas production fiscal system with its peer group. Summary .................................................................................... 46 Introduction \\\ For
    [Show full text]
  • Licensing and Upstream Petroleum Fiscal Regimes: Assessing Lebanon’S Choices
    The Lebanese Center LCPS for Policy Studies Licensing and Upstream LCPS policy papers are in-depth research papers that address relevant policy questions and Petroleum Fiscal Regimes: shed fresh light on topics related to governance and Assessing Lebanon’s Choices development. Carole Nakhle Policy Paper Founded in 1989, the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies is a Beirut-based independent, non-partisan think-tank whose mission is to produce and advocate policies that improve good governance in fields such as oil and gas, economic development, public finance and decentralization. This research was funded by the International Development Research Center Copyright© 2015 The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies Designed by Polypod Executed by Hamsa Moubayed Sadat Tower, Tenth Floor P.O.B 55-215, Leon Street, Ras Beirut, Lebanon T: + 961 1 79 93 01 F: + 961 1 79 93 02 [email protected] www.lcps-lebanon.org Licensing and Upstream Petroleum Fiscal Regimes: Assessing Lebanon’s Choices Carole Nakhle Carole Nakhle is the director of Crystol Energy (UK). As an energy economist, she has more than eighteen years of experience in international petroleum contractual arrangements and fiscal regimes for the oil and gas industry, world oil and gas market developments, energy policy, and revenue management. She has worked in the oil and gas industry (Eni and Statoil), policy making (Special Parliamentary Advisor in the House of Lords), academia (University of Surrey), and as a consultant to the IMF, World Bank, and Commonwealth Secretariat. Dr. Nakhle is a research fellow at the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies and a scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Fiscal Incentives in the Pre-Salt Oil Business in Brazil
    THE IMPACT OF FISCAL INCENTIVES IN THE PRE-SALT OIL BUSINESS IN BRAZIL Patrícia Pereira Pedra Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao Programa de Pós-graduação em Planejamento Energético, COPPE, da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, como parte dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do título de Mestre em Planejamento Energético. Orientador: Alexandre Salem Szklo Rio de Janeiro Março de 2020 THE IMPACT OF FISCAL INCENTIVES IN THE PRE-SALT OIL BUSINESS IN BRAZIL Patrícia Pereira Pedra DISSERTAÇÃO SUBMETIDA AO CORPO DOCENTE DO INSTITUTO ALBERTO LUIZ COIMBRA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO E PESQUISA DE ENGENHARIA DA UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO DE JANEIRO COMO PARTE DOS REQUISITOS NECESSÁRIOS PARA A OBTENÇÃO DO GRAU DE MESTRE EM CIÊNCIAS EM PLANEJAMENTO ENERGÉTICO. Orientador: Alexandre Salem Szklo Prof. Alexandre Salem Szklo Prof. Roberto Schaeffer Prof. Edmar Luiz Fagundes de Almeida RIO DE JANEIRO, RJ - BRASIL MARÇO DE 2020 Pedra, Patrícia Pereira The Impact of Fiscal Incentives in the Pre-Salt Oil Business in Brazil / Patrícia Pereira Pedra. – Rio de Janeiro: UFRJ/COPPE, 2020. XIII, 98 p.: il.; 29,7 cm. Orientador: Alexandre Salem Sklo Dissertação (mestrado) – UFRJ/ COPPE/ Programa de Planejamento Energético, 2020. Referências Bibliográficas: p. 72-83. 1. Oil production 2. Pre-salt. 3. Fiscal Incentives 4. Economic Analysis I. Szklo, Alexandre Salem. II. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, COPPE, Programa de Planejamento Energético. III. Título. iii AGRADECIMENTOS Agradeço à minha família, especialmente ao meu marido Paulo Brandão, por seu amor em todos os momentos. Meus filhos, pela compreensão das horas deles retiradas para o estudo. Meus pais que sempre me apoiaram e incentivaram a nunca parar de aprender.
    [Show full text]
  • Promoting Extractives Tax and Transparency Project
    Promoting Extractives Tax and Transparency Project 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Synthesis report author: Dr Dan Ngabirano The following PWYP coalitions led the national level research which is synthesized in this report: PWYP Tanzania: HakiRasilimali Tanzania Coalition Coordinator – Racheal Chagonja Research Team Dr. Hamza I. Abdulrahman, Paul Mikongoti, Lucy shao, Francis Mkasiwa PWYP Uganda: Pro-biodiversity Conservationists in Uganda Coalition Coordinator – Robert Tumwesigye Baganda Research Team: Magara Siragi, Rwengabo, Sabastiano, Paul Twebaze and Gard Benda PWYP Mozambique: Coligação Cívica sobre a Indústria Extractiva/KUWUKA JDA Coalition Coordinator: Camilo Correia Nhancale Research Team: Fatima Mimbire, Tomas Vieira Mário, Zelda Cossa and Issufo Tankar We would like to thank the Finnish Ministry of foreign affairs Unit for Civil Society Department for Development Policy for providing the funding for the research. Publish What You Pay (2021) Fair Share? Shining a light on the Extractive Industries Fiscal Regimes in Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda. Kampala, Uganda 2 Promoting Extractives Tax and Transparency Project Table of Contents List of Tables 4 List of Figures 4 List of Acronyms 5 Executive Summary 8 1.0 Introduction 14 1.2 Definition and purpose of extractive industries fiscal regimes 16 1.3 Purpose of the synthesis report 16 1.4 Scope and methodology 17 2.0 Brief Country Profiles 18 2.1 Mozambique – Natural gas in the Rovuma Basin – Golfinho/Atum Project 18 2.2 United Republic of Tanzania – Mining sector 19 2.3 Uganda – Petroleum
    [Show full text]
  • Upstream Petroleum Taxation in Australia in Comparative Perspective, with Special Focus on the United Kingdom
    UPSTREAM PETROLEUM TAXATION IN AUSTRALIA IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE, WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON THE UNITED KINGDOM 1. This document is submitted to the Senate Economics References Committee (“SERC”) pursuant to its inquiry into corporate tax avoidance and minimisation in the Australian upstream petroleum sector. The document addresses SERC’s broadened request for information related to the payment of royalties the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) and other imposts by corporations involved in Australia's offshore oil and gas industry. The purpose of the document is to make clear that the alarming downward trend in petroleum fiscal revenues that has featured so prominently in Australian public debate of late (and which has prompted SERC’s inquiry) is not a necessarily a consequence of tax avoidance and optimisation practices on the part of corporations engaged in producing oil and gas in Australia, widespread and outrageous as these appear to be. Rather, the paltriness of the fiscal receipts that the Australian government is currently getting (and is likely to get in future) in connection with the exploitation of the country’s hydrocarbon resources should be seen as a design feature of the Australian fiscal regime currently in force. In other words, the Australian petroleum fiscal regime is producing exactly the sort of fiscal outcomes that it was designed and intended to produce, and will continue to do so in the future unless the Australian government changes tack by radically overhauling this fiscal regime. 2. In a briefing paper dated
    [Show full text]
  • Comparative Analysis of Upstream Petroleum Fiscal Systems of Three (3) Petroleum Exporting Countries: Indonesia, Nigeria and Malaysia
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by GSSRR.ORG: International Journals: Publishing Research Papers in all Fields International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR) ISSN 2307-4531 (Print & Online) http://gssrr.org/index.php?journal=JournalOfBasicAndApplied --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comparative Analysis of Upstream Petroleum Fiscal Systems of Three (3) Petroleum Exporting Countries: Indonesia, Nigeria and Malaysia Babajide, N. A.a*, Ogunlade, C. A. b, Aremu, D. O. c, Oladimeji, S. T.d, e Akinyele, O. A. aCentre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee, UK bDepartment of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, University of Ibadan, Nigeria c,d.e Federal College of Agriculture, Moor Plantation, Apata, Ibadan, Oyo State Nigeria. aEmail: [email protected] bEmail: [email protected] Abstract The role of oil: its output and infrastructure and technology in the world are established. Exploration and Exploitation of oil is not only significant as a revenue generator but has become indispensible in the world economy especially as a result of the inability of world economy to find a better substitute. The recent decline and fluctuation arising from oil sector over the decades have prompted a reassessment of petroleum fiscal systems. The research compares the current upstream fiscal systems of three oil exporting countries: Nigeria, Indonesia and Malaysia. The approach adopted for this study is a review of the existing literature on fiscal regimes; the focus is an objective presentation of empirical evidence. The methodology involved desktop research which looked into published literature. Based on the evaluation, the paper arrived at possible conclusions and implications for oil fiscal regimes for the respective countries and the world fiscal systems in general.
    [Show full text]
  • The Copyright © of This Thesis Belongs to Its Rightful Author And/Or Other Copyright Owner
    The copyright © of this thesis belongs to its rightful author and/or other copyright owner. Copies can be accessed and downloaded for non-commercial or learning purposes without any charge and permission. The thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted as a whole without the permission from its rightful owner. No alteration or changes in format is allowed without permission from its rightful owner. EFFECTS OF PETROLEUM FISCAL REGIMES AND TAX INSTRUMENTS ON THE INVESTMENT CLIMATE OF MARGINAL OIL FIELDS IN MALAYSIA ABDULSALAM MAS’UD DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA January, 2016 EFFECTS OF PETROLEUM FISCAL REGIMES AND TAX INSTRUMENTS ON THE INVESTMENT CLIMATE OF MARGINAL OIL FIELDS IN MALAYSIA By ABDULSALAM MAS’UD Thesis Submitted to School of Accountancy, Universiti Utara Malaysia, In Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Permission to Use In presenting this thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree from Universiti Utara Malaysia, I agree that the Universiti Library may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for the copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purpose may be granted by my supervisor(s) or, in their absence, by the Dean of School of Accountancy. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to Universiti Utara Malaysia for any scholarly use which may be made of any material from my thesis.
    [Show full text]
  • Fiscal Terms Oil and Gas
    Fiscal Terms Oil And Gas Brett easing grumblingly. Torrin brines receptively if psychomotor Rolland fractured or satellite. Stray Hymie farcings some docudrama after plical Park surround coincidentally. Ring fenced and fiscal incentives but statements prepared by written approval of capacity Administrative appeals and reviews should be carried out by bank not borrow for the decisions being reviewed, and of kernel there should snag a corn of appeal where a wholly independent body. The jurisdiction of services providers have a means that are harnessed for and fiscal terms; it implicitly assumes symmetric information about this only. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FISCAL REGIMES IN GLJ. Interest under terms and oil. Fiscal Policies in remnant and Gas Sector Quantitative Assessment. The market value to accept or any other words in cash at a state has achieved with these have been introduced under specific to? Central bank bna approved by companies withhold tax residency for services instead, that include but is no guarantee or deemed as more. Promoting companies and their affiliates are offspring from investment income living on dividends received from Angola LNG Limited, Sociedade Operacional Sociedade Operadora dos Gasodutos de Angola. Exploration costs, development and production costs, operating or production costs, commercialization costs, and an allocation of precarious and administrative costs. The areas named Aram, Bumerangue, Cruzeiro do Sul, Sudoeste de Sagitário and Norte de Brava will be offered in the Campos and Santos basins. Government oil fiscal terms? It may even with such parties agree to be a specific provisions in cash flows are other hand and foreign companies being reasonable business are.
    [Show full text]
  • Assessing the Petroleum Fiscal Regimes of Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon
    Assessing the Petroleum Fiscal Regimes of Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon by Sara Zedingle Ghebremusse A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Laws Faculty of Law University of Toronto © Copyright by Sara Ghebremusse (2014) Assessing the Petroleum Fiscal Regimes of Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon Sara Zedingle Ghebremusse Master of Laws Faculty of Law University of Toronto 2014 Abstract Petroleum extraction is a lucrative source of tax revenue for many governments in Sub- Saharan Africa. However the generation of oil tax revenue can be limited by the need to attract and incentivize oil companies to conduct exploration and extraction activities. This thesis assesses how three African countries – Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon – administer the tradeoff between maximizing tax revenue for the state and attracting investment. It uses a four-point framework to examine the inputs or design of each country’s regime by focusing on: the state’s dependence on oil revenue; the stage of development of the oil industry; the government’s financial position; and the extent of state participation in the oil sector. ii Acknowledgements Completing this thesis would not have been possible without the guidance and support of many people. As my supervisor, Professor Mariana Mota Prado provided valuable feedback and instructions throughout the writing of this paper. The final piece is a credit to her abilities as a teacher, author, and legal scholar. Joanna Langille, my SJD Advisor, played a tremendous role in the beginning stages of this project. Our meetings and email exchanges helped me narrow my research and frame my topic.
    [Show full text]
  • A FISCAL FRAMEWORK for OFFSHORE OIL and GAS ACTIVITIES in ROMANIA* Daria Crisan
    Volume 9 • Issue 8 • March 2016 A FISCAL FRAMEWORK FOR OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS ACTIVITIES IN ROMANIA* Daria Crisan SUMMARY The discovery in 2012 of a significant natural gas reservoir in the Romanian offshore sector of the Black Sea, followed by other encouraging findings, offers an opportunity for the Romanian government to update the fiscal legislation concerning taxation and royalties for oil and gas activities in order to attract more investment in this vital sector. This study analyses the opportunity of replacing the current revenue-based royalties that apply to all types of oil and gas projects with a resource-rent tax (RRT) in the offshore sector. A RRT is the most efficient way for the government to collect a share of the rents or surplus generated by the exploitation of non-renewable resources. However it can be difficult to implement a RRT for small extraction projects that are hard to monitor. We recommend that the new legislation distinguish between conventional onshore and offshore projects, primarily because offshore production entails larger investment expenditures, higher risks, and longer times to build and then to recover costs, than conventional onshore projects. A resource rent tax (RRT) should be adopted for offshore oil and gas projects because it could provide greater incentives to invest in exploration and development than royalties based on revenues from oil and gas production. Under a resource rent tax, a firm can deduct all of its operating and capital expenditures from its current revenues from a project. If the operating and capital expenditures exceed current revenues, which will generally be the case in first few years of a project, the firm can carry these expenditures forward at a specified interest rate and deduct them from future revenues.
    [Show full text]