European Parliament calls for Windfall Profits tax
19. Mai 2022
Press Release Rasmus Andresen
Brussels, 19. Mai 2022
European Parliament calls for Windfall Profits tax
Today the European Parliament voted in favour of measures to combat the social and economic consequences of the war in Ukraine. In a cross-party resolution, the Parliament for the first time calls for a windfall profits tax on corporations, which are making high profits due to increased energy prices, while consumers are massively burdened.
Rasmus Andresen, spokesperson for the German Greens in the European Parliament and Member of the Subcommittee on Fiscal Affairs, comments:
„We Greens welcome that a large majority in the European Parliament has joined our call for a windfall profits tax.
Excessive profits made by some corporations due to the war in Ukraine and high energy prices must be limited. Large fossil fuel companies must not emerge as winners from the crisis, while more and more millions of people can no longer pay their energy bills.
Spain and Italy are leading the way. Now all of Europe should follow.
The money should be used for direct relief for European citizens.
We will only get through this crisis and prevent a social division of the EU with a fair distribution. The revenue from the tax could finance further social relief in the member states.
German Finance Minister Lindner must finally end his ideological blockade. A German finance minister must live up to his responsibility and not put on the brakes.“
Quotes from the resolution:
- “whereas the International Energy Agency has estimated that excess profits amount to EUR 200 billion7 in 2022; whereas it has also stated that temporary fiscal measures on windfall profits could be made available for public revenue to partially offset higher
- energy bills; whereas the Commission proposed guidance on the introduction of temporary tax measures on windfall profits in March 2022”
- “Highlights that, as stressed by the European Council, temporary taxation of or regulatory interventions on windfall profits could be a source of national public financing; calls on the Commission and the Member States to coordinate the design of windfall
- profit taxation schemes or other regulatory measures in order to use them to mitigate the social and economic consequences for the EU of the war in Ukraine”
Source: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/RC-9-2022-0267_EN.pdf