Dear Editor,
I thought it was made clear in the oil contract our government secretly signed that there are no taxes to collect from ExxonMobil, but only from the shore-based EEPGL.
And even supposing the GRA determines it must know how much oil is actually being extracted in order to levy taxes, how will Commissioner-General Statia realize this when he will have to give 7 days’ notice to the oil production operations for what is nonsensically called “impromptu” inspections? Let us also suppose his agents get there, what are they expecting to see other than a confirmation that all is well?
If Mr. Statia does not realize that all those duties he outlined [SN Sept 7, 2018] has to have the true amount of oil extracted as a basis for calculation, then he not only has a basket to fetch oil, but it does not even have a bottom.
Yours faithfully,
Alfred Bhulai
