Tax revenue plummits on mining and oil profits

Late last week, the Regional Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Northern Amazon of Peru told the press that it would file a formal complaint against Peruvian state-owned oil company Petroperu over an oil spill caused by a leaky oil pipeline. The ORPIAN-P president blamed a lack of timely maintenance work on the pipeline for the January 25 oil spill. According to the Peruvian government, Petroperu reported the spill on January 27, claiming that the spill had been completely contained, and initiated repairs on January 28.

Peruvian business journal Gestión reported on the broader fall in revenues from the mining and hydrocarbons sector. Taxes on mining profits fell by 24% in 2015, despite a strong increase in production, and taxes on oil profits fell by 43%. Comex, an exports-focused trade association, called on the Peruvian government to stimulate the extractive sector though tax breaks. Bolsamania noted that the falling tax revenue would hurt the national and regional government.

In other mining-related news, illegal miners in Peru are looking to elect their own representatives to the Peruvian Congress. La Republica explained that a number of parties have published lists of candidates that include prominent defenders of illegal mining and actual owners of illegal mining operations.

Lastly, El Comercio ran a feature article on the distribution of organized crime throughout Peru. The article highlighted the main manifestations of organized crime in each of Peru’s regions. While drug trafficking and extortion featured prominently, in the southern departments of Madre de Dios and Puno, illegal mining dominates the criminal underworld.