The first part of the solidarity contribution from the energy sector has been received by the federal government. This concerns 300 million euros from gas network operator Fluxys. In February, there will be another 134.5 million euros in solidarity contributions from the petroleum sector. It is not yet known how much the electricity sector will have to contribute in the form of an excess profit tax. That is what energy minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Groen) says.
In October last year, in the context of budget discussions, the federal government decided to tax the excess profits of energy producers and to request a solidarity contribution from the gas network operator and the petroleum sector. All together, these measures should bring in 3.5 billion euros in 2022 and 2023.
In the meantime, the treasury has received the planned 300 million euros from gas network operator Fluxys, Minister Van der Straeten confirmed on Tuesday in the Parliamentary Committee on Energy. There she answered a question from Green MP Kim Buyst.
The solidarity contribution for the petroleum sector for the first semester is expected in the course of February. It concerns 134.5 million euros. For the first months of this year, this amounts to 434.5 million euros.
The collection of the excess profit tax in the electricity sector is “perfectly on schedule”, Van der Straeten emphasized, but because that procedure is more complex and requires more intermediate steps, it will take some time. Payments are expected this fall, she said.
Criticism of energy sector
The question remains whether the legal framework for the solidarity contribution and excess profit tax will remain intact. At the end of December, two Belgian oil companies already went to the Constitutional Court because they find the contribution to be paid discriminatory.
LOOK. Energy sector not happy about excess profit tax.
FEBEG, the federation for the energy sector, said it was preparing for a legal battle after the excess profit tax was announced. “If the law is overturned, the money that has been provided from it will have to be sought in a different way,” warned professor of energy law Kurt Deketenaere (KU Leuven) in October last year.
Money for basic energy packages
The proceeds from the solidarity contributions and the excess profit tax go back to families and companies in the form of support measures, the minister reminded. This includes the basic packages for gas and electricity. For January, February and March, this is an intervention of 61 euros per month for electricity and 135 euros for gas.
According to Buyst, it is now the government’s task to ensure that revenues “are directed back to those companies and families that are hardest hit”. She also calls for measures for households that are just missing out on, for example, the social rate for energy.
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