Calls for North Sea oil tax breaks to avert crisis


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Aberdeen North Labour MP Frank Doran will use a Westminster Hall debate to claim that the oil and gas sector has caused problems for itself as it tries to cope with the downturn in the industry as the price of a barrel of oil has collapsed to below $50.
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Hide AdHis debate comes as shadow Chancellor Ed Balls is set to join Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy in the Granite City in a bid to help secure jobs in the industry.
Ahead of his debate Mr Doran said: “This is an incredibly important issue not just for the north east of Scotland but the whole of the UK.
“The sector is facing increasing problems one of which is the rising costs of exploration which they face but some of the problems comes down to the way the companies have managed thing.
“This includes failing until recently to have proper apprenticeship training and also some of their purchasing methods are unnecessary.”
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Hide AdBut he added: “The industry’s calls for tax cuts are legitimate. Successive governments have just used the sector as a cash cow.
“But I would like to to see targeted tax cuts which encourage important areas such as investment, research and development.”
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