The assessment announced by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, on the windfall benefits earned by companies energetic it is not a ‘rare bird’ in Europe. There are already several countries that have decided to apply this surcharge, as is the case of Italy or the United Kingdom. This is not the case, instead with the one that will affect the banking sector that Pedro Sánchez announced on Tuesday, which has caused the collapse of the shares of Ibex entities and which has not raised any of the large European economies.
In Italythe government of mario draghi It has introduced a tax of an extraordinary nature, and of temporary duration destined to tax the extraordinary profits of the energy sector, and minimize price increases for the consumers. Not so in the case of banks. As far as electricity companies are concerned, the approved measure provides for a tax of up to 25% on the extraordinary profits of the companies with which they are benefiting from this peculiar moment of prosperity for their coffers. It has been determined that such extraordinary gains will be fixed comparing the surplus obtained this year with last year’s data.
But, not only have their recipients criticized the measures, the consumer associations affirm that the measure does not address “the real problem, which is the behavior of the gas market & rdquor ;, which in Italy represents 49% of the electrical energy used in the country. “It is true that the war between Ukraine and Russia has contributed to increasing prices, but not those of natural gas. The current (prices) are increasing because financial operators, speculators, take advantage of the geopolitical crisis & rdquor ;, according to the Altro cooperative Consumption.
In the United Kingdomthe government of Boris Johnson, after much resistance and denial that it would do so, announced a tax on the benefits of 25% oil and gas companiesbut excluded the electrical. Explaining the measure, the until recently Minister of Finance, Rishi Sunakclarified that the decision will be “temporary and if oil and gas prices return to more normal historical levels, it will be phased out & rdquor ;.
Sunak is now one of the candidates running to become prime minister. “Sectors of oil and gas they are making extraordinary profits, not as a result of taking more risks, or increasing their innovation or efficiency, but because of the global increase in the price of raw materials, due in part to the war launched by Russia & rdquor; had pointed out. In his plans was also to study the windfall profits of electricity companies.
The energy bill may be impossible to pay this winter for many Britons. In the United Kingdom there is an average limit per household with two reviews per year, in April and October. In April, the limit price increased by 54% and reached 2,115 euros. Then a new increase for October of almost 900 euros was anticipated, which would mean a receipt of about 3,200 euros per year. Energy regulator Ofgem is now warning that energy market prices are higher than estimated. The consulting firm Cornwall Insight calculates that this invoice in the autumn can reach 3,800 euros.
In Francethe only measure announced so far has been to completely nationalize the electricity company EDF, of which the State already has more than 80% of the capital. Other countries have been more aggressive with windfall profits for energy companies, as is the case with Romaniawhich applied an 80% tax on these earnings or Greece, whose conservative government has established a 90% tax on these income or Hungarywhich expect to raise more than 4,000 million euros.
Related news
For its part, the German coalition government, made up of the social democrats of the SPD, the eco-liberals of the Greens and the liberals of the FDP, has not introduced any special tax on banks or energy companies. And it will hardly do so because the Ministry of Finance is in the hands of Christian Lindner, president of the FDP, a party that is committed to budgetary discipline and a neoliberal economic policy.
Lindner has already made an exception during the pandemic, in which he agreed to carry out coronabonds in the EU – temporary mutualization of community debt – and to approve expansive national budgets to deal with support programs for companies and citizens. While the left wing of the Traffic Light Coalition – SPD and Greens – is open to discussing possible taxes on large companies and fortunes.