Free Republic

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that foreign oil companies operating in Venezuela must pay taxes he insists they owe, or else leave the country. "The companies must pay what they owe,'' Chavez said during his Sunday television and radio show. "If they don't pay, they must leave.'' Chavez said that many private oil companies have been evading taxes for years, and they must be charged retroactively with interest on any debts. Officials have said that many declare losses to avoid paying income tax. "It's not possible that an oil company can come here, pay 1 percent...

Demands that the Shell Bakersfield Refinery remain open intensified Friday, as Sen. Barbara Boxer joined a chorus of calls to the Federal Trade Commission and California Attorney General Bill Lockyer to prevent the closure. "The plant must remain open until a buyer is found and a sale is completed. Otherwise, consumers will pay the prices," Boxer wrote in a letter to FTC Chairman Timothy Muris. Boxer's letter caps a week that has seen a wide array of critics of the proposed closure emerge. Also this week, the FTC announced it is evaluating the situation, and the state Attorney General's office...