据彭博社8月2日报道,根据周五的一份声明,埃克森美孚和雪佛龙都有业务涉及的石油资源丰富的阿尔伯塔省的公司税率下调,使埃克森美孚第二季度利润增加了近5亿美元。雪佛龙在其报告中指出,这项措施带来了1.8亿美元的非现金税收优惠。
虽然加拿大的减税措施对美国公司有利,但在贸易紧张加剧的时代,这似乎是一个失败的举措,但这一措施正如预期的那样发挥作用。艾伯塔省总理杰森·肯尼(Jason Kenney)将减税作为其将就业和全球投资带回该省努力的核心任务,该省在2014年全球油价暴跌和输油管道延误中遭受重创。
该省已经经历了包括荷兰皇家壳牌有限公司、康菲石油公司和道达尔股份有限公司在内的国际公司出售其本地业务引发的对该地区竞争力的担忧。肯尼于4月掌权,他支持的税收将公司税率从上月的12%下调至11%。这已经是加拿大的最低水平,并将在未来几年继续下降,在2022年达到8%。肯尼办公室称,到那时,这一数字将低于美国的44个州。
受益于减税的埃克森旗下加拿大油砂公司帝国石油有限公司(Imperial Oil Ltd)首席执行官里奇克鲁格(Rich Kruger)表示,减税代表着艾伯塔商业环境的实质性改善,但仍只是决定一个地区竞争力中财政、经济和监管条件的一部分。克鲁格称赞了肯尼政府的其他举措,包括改变该省的碳税和减少监管,他认为这也有助于改善环境。
孙子舒 编译自 彭博社
原文如下,
U.S. Oil Giants Exxon, Chevron get boost from tax cut in Canada
A corporate tax rate cut in the oil-rich province of Alberta, where both ExxonMobil and Chevron have operations, boosted Exxon’s second-quarter profit by almost $500 million, according to a statement Friday. Chevron noted a $180 million non-cash tax benefit from the measure in its report.
While a Canadian tax cut benefiting U.S. companies may seem like a misfire in an era of rising trade tensions, the measure is working as intended. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has made the tax cut a centerpiece of his effort to bring jobs and global investment back to the province, which was hit hard by the 2014 crash in global oil prices and pipeline delays.
The province has seen international companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, ConocoPhillips and Total SA sell their local operations, stoking concerns about the region’s competitiveness. The tax supported by Kenney, who took power in April, trimmed the corporate rate to 11% from 12% starting last month. It’s already the lowest in Canada, and will continue to decline in the coming years, reaching 8% in 2022. At that point, it will be lower than in 44 U.S. states, according to Kenney’s office.
The tax cut represents a material improvement in Alberta’s business environment, but it’s still only one part of the fiscal, economic and regulatory conditions that determine a region’s competitiveness, said Rich Kruger, chief executive officer of Imperial Oil Ltd., the Exxon-owned Canadian oil-sands company that benefited from the tax cut. Kruger lauded other moves by Kenney’s government, including changes to the province’s carbon tax and reductions in regulations as helping to improve the environment as well.