Latest news with #taxincentives
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Nigeria offers oil tax relief for cost-cutting measures
LAGOS, May 30 (Reuters) - Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has signed an executive order introducing a performance-driven framework for oil sector operators, designed to link tax incentives directly to verifiable cost savings. Under the new Upstream Petroleum Operations Cost Efficiency Incentives Order 2025, operators who successfully implement industry-standard cost reductions in onshore, shallow water, and deep offshore fields will qualify for defined tax relief. These tax credits will be capped at 20% of an operator's annual tax liability. "This Order is a signal to the world: we are building an oil and gas sector that is efficient, competitive, and works for all Nigerians," Tinubu said in a statement. "It is about securing our future, creating jobs, and making every barrel count." Analysts say success will largely be dependent on implementation. "President Tinubu referred in the announcement to the importance of alignment between government agencies. Succeed there and this could be highly significant towards improving Nigeria's investment appeal," said Clementine Wallop, director for sub-Saharan Africa at Horizon Engage. This order is a key component of the government's ongoing reforms aimed at boosting competitiveness within the sector. Last year, Nigeria offered a 25% gas utilisation investment allowance for equipment and plant for new and ongoing projects, and began streamlining contracting processes as part of commercial enablers to make offshore drilling more attractive. These incentives, while they haven't yielded investments in a new field, have spurred a few producers to return to existing fields.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Nigeria's Tinubu Adds Incentives to Boost Oil-Sector Revenue
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu signed an executive order aimed at drawing investment in the oil sector by lowering project costs, while protecting government revenue as the West African nation looks to grow output. The new directive caps available tax credits at 20% of a company's annual tax liability, and introduces a performance-based tax incentive for upstream operators, the president said in a statement late Thursday. Implementation guidelines are pending.
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Guardian
Driving value: how do EVs really stack up financially?
It's a depressing truth: your shiny, new, four-wheeled pride and joy starts to lose value the moment you drive it out of the showroom. With every click of the speedometer, its dollar value declines. But could electric vehicles (EVs) offer financial benefits that make up for this? Governments have explored ways to make car buyers choose EVs over petrol or diesel vehicles. Tweaking the tax system has delivered emissions-lowering benefits. The federal government's Electric Car Discount Bill in 2022 removed fringe benefits tax on employer-provided fully electric vehicles priced below the luxury car tax (LCT) threshold ($91,387 for fuel-efficient vehicles in 2024-25), supercharging fleet purchases. At BMW, the bill had an immediate impact. 'We recorded 7,787 registrations of fully electric BMW vehicles in 2024 – with most of these priced below the LCT – meaning they represented nearly 30% of our total sales volume,' says Nick Raman, the product and business communications manager for BMW Group Australia. 'In 2023 that figure was 11%.' Other tax incentives and discounts are also making EVs more affordable. Jessica Brady, a financial adviser, says a novated lease, which allows an employee to finance a vehicle through salary packaging, can result in an income tax saving, as well as a lower purchase price. 'The finance company claims a credit for the GST and so generally offers a discount by the same amount for the vehicle,' Brady says. 'So, there can be a discount, both from a tax savings perspective and the GST component.' Novated leasing contracts can be complex, Brady warns. She advises anyone thinking about taking one on to get professional advice. 'It's not something you should be making a quick decision about.' Thinking about a car purely in terms of the purchase price ignores the range of other benefits that can accrue to owners or leaseholders. Consider ongoing maintenance and servicing. This is where EVs have an advantage, Raman says. 'EVs have fewer moving parts, as they don't have the multitude of components intrinsic to a conventionally powered vehicle.' However, even if the maintenance schedule and requirements are different, EVs still require attention and ongoing care. At BMW, it is not just an annual date in your diary based on time or kilometres driven. Vehicle monitoring is integrated into condition-based servicing (CBS), so owners are automatically alerted when the system detects the car needs attention. Proactive care, which anticipates the needs of customers and connects them with BMW service representatives when required, has also recently been added to the CBS system. 'Sensors detect any functional irregularities early and transmit the data directly, in real time, to BMW for analysis and actioning,' Raman says. 'These measures help ensure a customer's BMW runs and performs at its best.' The bottom-line benefit for EV drivers? Fewer problems mean less maintenance and servicing costs. For EV drivers with home solar and a battery, running costs can also be lower. The RACV says that depending on how much you use your car and the size of your system, you may be able to charge your car for free, or at a lower cost than at public charging stations. Transport for NSW estimates EVs are significantly cheaper to run than petrol or diesel cars, with fuel savings of up to 70% and maintenance savings of about 40%. Government rebates also make installing a solar system more affordable. Value isn't all about costs. The decision to buy an EV is often anchored in the knowledge that it is a sustainable choice for the future. Now there is more choice in the market and prices have come down, sales are going up. Brady says: 'One thing that I'm very cognisant of is that more and more people are wanting to invest their money in a way that aligns with their personal values.' As well as cost, range anxiety has long been a major deterrent for would-be EV buyers, but their ranges are increasing, charging networks in urban and regional Australia are improving, and in-car technology is making it easier to manage your charging. BMW's embedded maps system shows charging locations and the estimated charge remaining, and an 'efficiency coach' inside the car helps maximise driving range. Raman says the My BMW app complements this. 'It has an extensive charging section that includes charging, charge history, statistics and a charging station locator.' Discover the BMW range of electric cars.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Spartanburg county, city council members to resign, accept state positions
Since 1991, David Britt has championed economic development as a member of Spartanburg County Council. He was part of the team that recruited BMW to Spartanburg, and he is known as an enthusiastic proponent of tax incentives for companies looking to move to the area. Britt will leave the Spartanburg County Council after its May 19 meeting to take a position with the South Carolina Public Service Commission. 'Serving on county council has been the biggest honor of my life,' he said. 'It has been so gratifying getting to serve my constituents. And getting to know great companies and recruiting them to Spartanburg – starting with BMW. Never in my wildest imagination would I have known what they would mean for Spartanburg County and for the whole state.' The Public Service Commission has oversight over utilities, including setting rates for natural gas, electric, water and wastewater companies. It also regulates telecommunications companies. The General Assembly elects commissioners to represent congressional districts. Britt will serve the 4th Congressional District, which encompasses most of Spartanburg and Greenville counties. While his new role takes him off the frontlines of recruiting companies to Spartanburg, Britt says he won't leave the economic development world altogether. 'We face critical challenges and opportunities for sustainable energy for our future,' he said. 'I decided to seek this position because I believe this is a role in which there is an opportunity to make a lasting impact on the state of South Carolina.' Meanwhile, Spartanburg City Council member Rob Rain was recently appointed to the South Carolina Ports Authority. Members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate. In a recorded interview for the position, Rain said he would resign from the city council. He was first elected in 2019. Special elections will take place for these two roles in the coming months, said Director of Registrations and Elections John Baucom. Rain is the CEO of OTO Development, a Spartanburg-based hotel development and management company, and part of The Johnson Group. Britt is the vice president of Tindall Corporation, a concrete contractor. This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Spartanburg elected officials set to move into roles on state boards
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Crippling Clean-Energy Tax Credits Won't Fly, GOP Senators Say
(Bloomberg) -- The House's draconian cuts to former President Joe Biden's landmark climate law won't fly in the Senate, key Republican senators said Thursday. Can Frank Gehry's 'Grand LA' Make Downtown Feel Like a Neighborhood? NY Private School Pleads for Donors to Stay Open After Declaring Bankruptcy Chicago's O'Hare Airport Seeks Up to $4.3 Billion of Muni Debt NYC's War on Trash Gets a Glam Squad NJ Transit Makes Deal With Engineers, Ending Three-Day Strike Just hours after the House narrowly passed a massive tax and spending bill gutting key clean-energy tax incentives, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate was planning its own effort. 'They give us a good product to work with but we have senators who want to write our own bill,' Thune said. Other Republican senators said they were already planning to make changes. Softening aggressive phaseouts of key tax credits for clean electricity production and nuclear power projects are among the top priorities, said Senator Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican from Alaska who has bucked her party on key votes before. 'I'm concerned about the direction the House takes,' Murkowski said. 'Obviously we have our work cut out for us.' Senator John Hoeven, a North Dakota Republican, said he expected the Senate to make changes to limits the House put on the ability of project sponsors to sell tax credits to third parties. Still, tough talk by Senate Republicans might not translate into action. Republicans who opt to vote against President Donald Trump's top legislative priority risk the wrath of the president and as well as potential primary challenges, said Chris Moyer, a former Democratic Senate staffer. 'At the end of the day they are going to vote for a bill extending tax cuts for millions of Americans,' Moyer said. While some moderate Republicans in the Senate have vowed to defend the energy credits, the tight margin in the House — where Speaker Mike Johnson can only afford to lose three votes — may limit their ability to act as a firewall, said James Lucier, managing director at research group Capital Alpha Partners. 'The Senate will have a mind of its own,' Senator John Curtis, a Utah Republican who previously chaired the Conservative Climate Caucus when he served in the House of Representatives. But he added: 'I think we're also very well aware that it's a tenuous situation in the House and that will be respected.' Still, renewable energy stocks are tumbling, even as some Wall Street analysts suggested a final bill isn't likely to be as damaging to the industry. Shares of Sunrun Inc., America's biggest rooftop-solar company, plunged 37% Thursday — the most ever. Equipment provider SolarEdge Technologies Inc. slid 25%. NextEra Energy Inc., the biggest US developer of wind and solar projects, dropped 6.4%. Analysts at Roth Capital Partners said in a note the bill's 'biggest surprise' for the clean-energy sectors would be denying residential solar-leasing companies the federal investment tax credit. This would hurt several home-energy companies that offer lease options for rooftop-panel systems. 'The impact to Americans is that this will make energy bills more expensive,' Sunrun Chief Executive Officer Mary Powell said in an interview. 'It will slash consumers' access to affordable, reliable solutions.' While the House GOP bill would take a sledgehammer to Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, it's 'not yet a finishing blow,' analysts at Jefferies wrote in a note. 'We don't expect this to last into Senate draft.' If passed without revision, the House bill would be the biggest blow to clean power yet from Donald Trump's administration. The president has been keen to undo Biden's climate legacy and has already throttled the country's fledgling offshore wind sector. The House bill represents a 'nightmare scenario for US clean energy advocates and defenders of the Biden-era IRA,' BloombergNEF analysts Ethan Zindler and Derrick Flakoll wrote in a note. The provisions that bar US projects from using components, subcomponents or even materials from China would make it nearly impossible for US solar and battery manufacturers to qualify for the tax incentives, they wrote. The House GOP bill would end technology-neutral clean electricity tax credits for sources including wind and solar starting in 2029 and require those projects to begin construction within 60 days of the legislation becoming law. The initial version proposed by House Republicans had a longer phase-out time, allowing many of the credits to exist until 2032. Without the tax credits, returns for renewable power plants could drop below threshold necessary to stimulate investment and likely spur a strategic capital shift away from the US, Bloomberg Intelligence wrote in a note. 'Without tax credits it's harder to invest,' Bobby Chada, an investment analyst at Capital Group, said in an interview on the sidelines of the Aurora Energy Research conference in London. --With assistance from William Mathis, Alastair Marsh, Janet Freund and Erik Wasson. (Updates shares in the 13th paragraph and adds comment from Sunrun in the 15th paragraph.) Why Apple Still Hasn't Cracked AI Inside the First Stargate AI Data Center How Coach Handbags Became a Gen Z Status Symbol Anthropic Is Trying to Win the AI Race Without Losing Its Soul Microsoft's CEO on How AI Will Remake Every Company, Including His ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
