Malaysia's windfall tax -Will YTL Power actually pay anything?
As reported in THE EDGE ,5 June 2008:
Independent power producers (IPPs), which benefited significantly from highly subsidised fuel, have been dealt a major blow following the imposition of a 30% windfall tax on their return on assets (ROA) under the government’s restructured subsidy scheme.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday the taxes would be implemented under the Windfall Profit Levy Act 1998 and would entail the IPPs contributing towards the higher cost of fuel such as gas for power generation. The tax will take effect from next month.
He said the 30% quantum would be imposed on the audited ROA threshold of 9%.
http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_56ce2976-cb73c03a-18992130-1d3b7060
However YTL Power International's ROA appears to have been consistently below the threshold:
Return on Average Assets
Quarterly
(Mar '08)- Annual-4.40%
(2007) Annual-5.49%
(TTM) -5.13%
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=KUL:YTLPOWR
It would appear that basing the windfall tax on the ROA gives YTL , and probably all other IPPs a convenient way out of paying the tax. IPPs are capital intensive, hence the base (ie the assets) will be high. But given leverage and steady, guaranteed revenue, the return on shareholders' equity can be relatively high: see my earlier post at http://sahathevan.blogspot.com/2007/06/how-god-decreed-that-ytl-power-have.html as well as
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=KUL:YTLPOWR
Independent power producers (IPPs), which benefited significantly from highly subsidised fuel, have been dealt a major blow following the imposition of a 30% windfall tax on their return on assets (ROA) under the government’s restructured subsidy scheme.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday the taxes would be implemented under the Windfall Profit Levy Act 1998 and would entail the IPPs contributing towards the higher cost of fuel such as gas for power generation. The tax will take effect from next month.
He said the 30% quantum would be imposed on the audited ROA threshold of 9%.
http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_56ce2976-cb73c03a-18992130-1d3b7060
However YTL Power International's ROA appears to have been consistently below the threshold:
Return on Average Assets
Quarterly
(Mar '08)- Annual-4.40%
(2007) Annual-5.49%
(TTM) -5.13%
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=KUL:YTLPOWR
It would appear that basing the windfall tax on the ROA gives YTL , and probably all other IPPs a convenient way out of paying the tax. IPPs are capital intensive, hence the base (ie the assets) will be high. But given leverage and steady, guaranteed revenue, the return on shareholders' equity can be relatively high: see my earlier post at http://sahathevan.blogspot.com/2007/06/how-god-decreed-that-ytl-power-have.html as well as
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=KUL:YTLPOWR
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