WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department announced Wednesday new guidelines requiring oil companies conducting business in Venezuela to handle their tax payments through a split system.
Under the new rules, businesses operating in Venezuela’s oil sector will pay local taxes, permits, and fees directly to Venezuelan authorities. Meanwhile, energy royalties, per-barrel charges, and federal tax obligations must be deposited into the Foreign Government Deposit Funds, which are overseen by the current administration.
These guidelines were outlined in a Frequently Asked Questions document that Reuters obtained before its official posting on the Treasury Department’s website.
The new FAQ document references two general licenses that Treasury released on February 10th. The first license removed U.S. sanctions that had restricted Venezuelan oil exports, sales, storage, and transportation activities. The second authorization permits American companies to provide goods, technology, software, or services for Venezuela’s oil and gas exploration, development, and production operations.
