Chavez Demands Taxes Owed by Oil Companies

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that foreign oil companies working in the country must pay taxes he insists they owe the country, or else leave the country.

Chavez said that many private companies producing oil in the company have been evading taxes for years. Tax officials have said that many declare losses to avoid paying income tax. He said the government would be seeking taxes retroactively, along with the interest on those taxes.