Hunt considering energy windfall tax hike to 30pc

Energy firms could face windfall taxes as high as 30%, and an extension of its imposition by three years, according to fresh reports late on Sunday.

The Times cited “senior government sources” as saying that chancellor Jeremy Hunt was mulling hiking the energy profits levy by five percentage points, and extending it to the current end of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecasts in 2028.

It said the plans were being considered amid government forecasts that oil and gas prices were unlikely to fall back to historic norms until at least the end of the decade.

The government was also considering plans to extend the levy to electricity generators, as well as the oil and gas companies it was originally designed for.

According to the reports, Hunt was warm to the idea given energy costs had more-than-quadrupled in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

As energy prices have increased, so have profits at energy companies, with Sheel reporting third-quarter earnings of $9.5bn last week.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.