Chancellor Rishi Sunak is reportedly considering a windfall tax on offshore energy firms who have made huge profits in recent months due to sharp increases in the price of oil and gas. The money raised could then be used to help to help households struggling with soaring food and energy costs.
But 31 companies working in the offshore energy supply chain have written an open letter to Sunak and Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying that such a move would amount to a “blunt short-term response which could undermine the levers to long-term solutions”.
“Our companies, still recovering from the last downturn, today help support some 200,000 jobs and contribute billions to local economies across the UK. As an already fragile supply chain supporting these producers, any further risks to future activity would have severe consequences,” it reads.
According to the Financial Times, electricity producers could have made more than £10bn in excess profits as a result...