Polish state-owned energy companies have the obligation to protect the country’s energy security so burdening them with an additional tax on extra profits from high fuel prices is unnecessary, the Climate Minister Anna Moskwa has said, Polish Press Agency reported.
A windfall tax is a one-off tax targeting firms that were lucky to benefit from something they were not responsible for, in this case, high energy prices.
According to the International Energy Agency’s calculations, such a tax could provide an additional €200 billion for fighting the energy crisis.
“We value our cooperation with the International Energy Agency and its recommendations on savings,” Moskwa told biznesalert.pl, but added that “the windfall tax doesn’t seem necessary in Poland.”
“We don’t have private entities that do not have energy security written into their articles of association, ones that could be taxed so that the dividend does not leave the country;’ Moskwa said, explaining that the biggest energy companies in Poland are state-owned.
Last week, following a similar windfall tax scheme in Italy, the United Kingdom announced a 25% windfall tax on extra profits of oil and gas companies. The proceeds will finance a £15 billion support package for households affected by a spike in electricity bills.
Warsaw’s ally Budapest also recently announced it would impose windfall taxes on banks and large private companies’ “extra profits” to rein in a swelling budget deficit.
Source: euractiv.com
