Time is marching on for Tax change

Oil and gas industry sector representatives have been out spoken about much-needed tax breaks for the North Sea industry. It’s no surprise that meetings with the Shadow Chancellor this week saw senior figures from industry bodies highlighting just how crucial oil and gas is to the UK economy as they called for double digit reductions in supplementary tax charges on the sector.

The oil and gas industry is still the UK’s largest industrial investor, paying more into the exchequer than any other public sector. In 2013 – 2014 the industry paid £4.7 billion in production taxes, but Oil & Gas UK’s Activity Survey 2015 shows that exploration has fallen to levels last seen in the 1970s. The UK industry is now at risk of capital investment falling by £3-4billion per year over the coming three years.

A lot of attention has already fallen on Aberdeen in the month of March. Thousands of delegates have attended the ITF technology showcase in Aberdeen where cutting edge technology from across the industry was on display. The president of Mexico visited Aberdeen whilst on a state visit to the UK. During his time in the Granite City President Enrique Pena Nieto signed a memorandum of understanding on collaboration in the energy sector and said: “2015 will be a very important year in this relationship deal that will allow us to hold different events in both nations.”

At the heart of the president’s words was the message that through collaboration and a clear understanding of needs, significant forward strides can be made to improve any challenging situation. That internationally recognised sentiment is one that many oil and gas sector businesses are hoping rings true closer to home next Wednesday, March 18th – when the Chancellor, George Osborne, announces a highly anticipated budget.