Venezuela seeks OK on oil export tax

Venezuela's government has asked the National Assembly to approve a 0.1 percent oil export registration tax as part of a larger package of reforms, according to a copy of the tax bill.

The tax "is not designed to increase tax collection, but to strengthen fiscal control over exports," the document states.

The National Assembly's Energy and Mines Committee began debating the proposed tax on Wednesday. Lawmakers allied with President Hugo Chavez hold all 167 seats in the assembly and they are expected to approve the proposal within a week.

The bill also includes a 33.3 percent oil royalty, or extraction tax, on production from all of the country's oil fields.

Chavez announced the tax on Sunday, which will double royalty payments at four heavy crude projects in the Orinoco River basin where oil majors like Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips pump over a fifth of the country's total production.

Venezuela has been gradually increasing taxes on existing oil production to maximize fiscal revenue amid record oil prices.