The French government is considering extending the extra tax on excess profits of oil refineries and utilities next year. The finance committee of the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament, has proposed changes to the 2024 budget law. This was reported by Jean-René Cazeneuve, MP from French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, in messages on the former Twitter.
France is one of the European countries that has introduced this extra ‘windfall tax’ due to the sharp increase in energy prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. With these additional revenues, the country finances the measures taken to help consumers with higher petrol, diesel and electricity costs and to encourage investments in energy savings. The budget bill containing the extension of the ‘lucky tax’ has yet to be adopted by the French parliament.
The oil and gas industry benefited greatly from higher prices last year as a result of the war in Ukraine, and many major oil companies recorded record profits as a result. However, according to the oil companies, the additional tax on excess profits is “counterproductive” by making it less attractive to invest.
Source: ANP/Bloomberg
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