Petrobras (PETR3; PETR4) announced yesterday that, throughout 2023, it paid a total of R$240.2 billion in taxes and government participation related to oil exploration and production. Although this amount represents a substantial figure, it is lower than the R$279 billion paid in the previous year, in 2022, reflecting the 33.8% drop in the state-owned company’s profit between 2023 and 2022.
Of this total amount, R$178.8 billion corresponds to taxes, distributed as follows: R$87.4 billion in federal collections, R$90.2 billion in state taxes and R$1.2 billion in municipal taxes. Federal taxes are levied on profit (IRPJ and CSLL) and revenue (PIS and COFINS), also including a temporary rate of 9.2% on the export of crude oil, established by Provisional Measure 1,163/2023, in force until June of the same year.
State taxes are related to ICMS, while municipal taxes are mainly ISS and IPTU. Macaé, in the north of Rio de Janeiro, was the municipality that received the most transfers from Petrobras, with R$253.7 million, followed by Cubatão (SP). The Campos Basin, on the coast of Rio de Janeiro, is part of the Macaé coverage area.
Petrobras (PETR3; PETR4)
In addition to taxes, Petrobras transferred another R$61.4 billion to the state in government shares, which include royalties from oil exploration and special participation (PE), predominantly made up of royalties (60%) and PE (40%) . These values are directly linked to the prices of oil and natural gas on the international market, quoted in dollars.
The company highlights the importance of these payments to finance public policies and positively impact society, highlighting that the total transferred includes taxes withheld from third parties, due to Petrobras’ legal responsibility in the collection chain, through tax substitution.
Furthermore, at an international level, Petrobras disbursed US$452.74 million in taxes abroad, with the Netherlands being the country with the largest transfer. The company emphasizes that, since January 2023, it has committed not to hold corporate interests in jurisdictions recognized as tax havens, in accordance with its Tax Policy.
(Brazil Agency).
