Business News Americas: Tax authority to fine Shell, Harvest and Eni this week – Venezuela
Posted 1 June 2005
(BNamericas.com) – Venezuela’s tax office Seniat will notify Anglo-Dutch company Shell, US company Harvest Vinccler and Italy’s Eni this week of fines corresponding to unpaid taxes from their operating agreements with state oil firm PDVSA, newspaper El Universal reported.
These are the first three companies to be fined by Seniat as part of its ongoing investigation into alleged tax evasion by 22 companies involved in 32 operating agreements with PDVSA, the paper reported.
Seniat alleges that the 22 companies owe up to US$2bn in unpaid taxes since 2000.
If companies make voluntary adjustments to their accounting procedures, then the fine will be 1% of the amount owed plus interest. However, if they wait to be audited by Seniat, the fine could be 10-125% of the amount owed, the paper reported.
This means that Shell, Harvest Vinccler and Eni will likely face fines of 10% in addition to the amount owed, the paper quoted Seniat special contributions manager Jose Cedillo as saying.
About 18 companies have shown their intention to change their accounting norms voluntarily and six that they will wait to be audited, according to Seniat.
Seniat officials have met with company representatives to discuss the tax payments and “they have shown us their desire to rectify and review their [financial] reports,” Cedillo said.
Seniat says companies must pay 50% tax on hydrocarbons production in every fiscal period in line with national tax law.
Venezuela’s tax code gives companies up to 36 months to pay fines imposed by Seniat, Cedillo added.
The tax investigation is part of PDVSA and the energy and oil ministry’s decision to migrate the 32 existing operating agreements to new joint ventures, in which PDVSA will hold a minimum 51% stake.
PDVSA president and energy and oil minister Rafael Ramirez has said the terms of the operating agreements signed under previous administrations are too generous to private companies and result in losses to PDVSA. – (BNamericas.com)
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Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
