MOSCOW, June 21 (RIA Novosti) - The outstanding tax bill of Yukos Oil Company was $6.5 billion in early 2006, the company's head said Wednesday.
Viktor Gerashchenko, the chairman of the Yukos board of directors and a former chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, told an annual shareholders' meeting that the tax claims to the company had totaled $27.5 billion in the past four years.
"A part of this debt has been reduced due to the sale of Yuganskneftegaz [oil production unit] and the remaining tax bill stood at $6.5 billion as of early 2006," Gerashchenko said.
He said the company, which is attempting to stave off bankruptcy, had also cut its tax bill through its earnings.
