Windfall tax on the oil and energy companies?

Question

Should our Government impose a windfall tax on the oil and energy companies?

The average gas bills are to rise by (I think) 20% and electricity to rise by (I think) 17% before the winter sets in. BP announced huge profits today.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1039474/Motorists-anger-BP-makes-6-75-billion-profits-soaring-oil-prices.html

http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hy2434ss2iQYyPD7kgqLcspzae9A

Should the oil and energy companies be dealt with in the same way, or treated as a seperate entity? You views are most welcome.

Answer 1

O.K! but what will they spend it on?.

More inflated expenses, or overseas aid to Mugabe.

It won't come to me and thee chum.

Answer 2

If these energy companies are making such huge profits then they shouldnt be putting the prices up at all and the government should impose restrictions on their pricing.

I had British gas at the door yesterday and he seemed to think the prices were going to increase in August.

The reason the government dont do anything is coz it doesnt affect them > they can afford these rises on their wages and the rich/poor divide grows ever wider.

Answer 3

What if someone decided to impose a windfall tax on you personally.Say for argument's sake you had started some sort of enterprise last year.The tax rate on profits was then 25%.You had a very good year.Maybe you're business idea was the best in the world.Maybe you just got lucky.

Whatever the reason unless you did something that was already illegal what is the justification - moral - legal - ethical or political for charging you 75% (or whatever ) tax.

You might as well say that someone has more than I have therefore I'll confiscate the difference.My grandma used to tell me not be jealous of others becuase there was always going to be someone who had more than I did.

This is not a particularly good basis for a political argument neither are calls for "windfall" taxes from MPs , Union and public sector people who probalby without exception have never risked their own money on anything.The only money they have ever had was ours in the first place.

Answer 4

Every time a large company makes large profits, the Labour MP's whinge on about windfall taxes. The fact is that for many, many years both gas and electricity companies were under State control as nationalised industries, following nationalisation by the Atlee government, and couldn't make any profit at all - indeed they were a net drain on the tax-payer. Then they were privatised, the tax-payer stopped footing the bill, had receipt of the tax the newly profitable companies were now paying and STILL labour want more of the pie! Perhaps more should or could be done to help those in so-called "fuel poverty" but that is what government is for, not to punish the successful.

Answer 5

No government should impose retrospective taxes, it would be a financial nightmare for businesses.

The oil companies need large profits to carry on exploring new sources and developing existing fields to extract the maximum yield.

Let's not discourage them at the very time when their expertise is sorely needed!

Answer 6

The CAPITALISTS puppets called New Labour are only s******g the poor and won't deviate from the agenda.All hedge funds are the same as BP, paying nearly nothing in tax because they have the money and powers to offset tax