Shell CEO: Windfall tax will not fix energy crisis

Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden says a windfall tax on oil and gas producers would do little to alleviate the surge in energy prices in Britain, saying: “I’m not convinced that windfall taxes, popular though as they seem, will help us with supply, nor is it going to help us with demand.” Campaigners argue that a windfall tax on energy firms could raise almost £4bn to help households struggling amid the cost of living crisis. Speaking in the Commons, Chancellor Rishi Sunak dismissed Labour’s calls for a levy on energy firms, saying it would “deter investment” in Britain. Meanwhile, John Macdonald, director of strategy at the Adam Smith Institute, warned: “Windfall taxes, or retroactively punishing successful businesses, are not just illiberal, they are economically illiterate.”

 

 

The Guardian

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