Australia's St Barbara faces worst day in 34 years after $131 mln PNG tax assessment

St Barbara

24/12/2024 01:13

Dec 24 (Reuters) - St Barbara  SBM.AX  shares plunged
nearly 38% on Tuesday and were on track for their worst session
in 34 years, after the Papua New Guinea government sent a tax
assessment of about A$210 million ($131.15 million) to the
Australian gold miner.
    The stock fell as much as 37.7% to A$0.19 and was poised for
its worst day since October 1990 if current losses held. It also
hit its lowest level since June 27.
    St Barbara's unit Simberi Gold received the correspondence,
which contained an assessment of additional taxes inclusive of a
200% penalty.  
    The assessment included income tax related to the
calculation of asset values since 2006 and its effect on
depreciation claims from 2017 to 2021.
    St Barbara and Simberi Gold rejected the basis for the
assessment and plan to appeal within the statutory 60-day
window, with the deadline set for Feb. 17, 2025.
    "St Barbara takes the assertion of fraud very seriously and
will vigorously defend against these baseless allegations," the
company said in a statement, arguing that the claims were an
attempt to reopen older tax filings unjustly.    

($1 = 1.6013 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)
 ((Roshan.Thomas@thomsonreuters.com;))