Times-PM Sunak Plans To Extend Windfall Tax On O&G Profits

Steven Swinford at The Times: "[PM] Rishi Sunak and [Chancellor of the Exchequer] Jeremy Hunt are planning to extend windfall taxes on oil and gas companies to raise an estimated £40 billion over five years. They want to maximise revenues from the windfall tax by increasing the rate from 25 per cent to 30 per cent, extending the levy until 2028 and expanding the scheme to cover electricity generators."

• The issue of a windfall tax has become something of a long-running saga in UK politics. While the EU swiftly came to agreements on taxing excess profits in the O&G and energy sectors, the UK gov't has sought to avoid implementing such a measure. The gov'ts of Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss both initially talked down the prospect of a windfall tax.
• However, with a hole in the public finances that Sunak and Hunt are looking to patch, huge profits being raked in by O&G/energy majors, and overwhelming public support for such a measure, it appears the gov't will escalate the project in the 17 Nov autumn statement.
• Story also states that the two, "...discussed allowing local authorities to raise much more in council tax. They discussed scrapping the referendum requirement for rises of over 2.99%. But it's unlikely to happen given impact on poorest"