UK passes North Sea windfall tax
UK lawmakers have approved a windfall tax on the profits of North Sea oil and gas producers, in a move to raise funds that can be used to subsidise the soaring cost of energy, the government said on July 12.
The tax extends to profits earned between May 26 this year and the end of December 2025, and is set to raise around £5bn ($5.9bn) in its first year alone. The bill still needs to pass through the UK's upper legislative chamber, the House of Lords, to become law. The lords could propose an amendment, but rarely do they attempt to block legislation completely
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A number of oil and gas producers working off the UK coast have spoken out against the levy, warning that it will hit investment levels at a time when the UK is scrambling to bolster domestic supply to shore up its energy security.
Outgoing UK prime minister has ruled out extending the tax to electricity generators. A spokesman for the leader, who agreed to step down on July 8 after a series of scandals, said the government "would not seek to make any new policies or major fiscal decisions. So there's no plans to [extend it to power firms]."
"We will continue to evaluate the scale of the profits and consider appropriate steps but there's no plans to introduce or extend that to that group," the spokesman said.