Grant Shapps hints at windfall tax – report

Grant Shapps appeared to hint that new windfall taxes on energy companies could be included in the November budget, it was reported on Monday.

Talk to Sky Newsthe business secretary said: “I mean, it’s because fuel prices have been so high, there have been windfall profits, of course.

“But I think it’s important that we continue to invest to make sure, not in fossil fuels but also in renewables, that we have the capacity, we also have the capacity to move the market.”

He declined to be drawn in further, however, telling Sky the public “should wait” until the Chancellor’s statement on November 17.

Wholesale oil and gas prices soared on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sending energy bills soaring while corporate profits surged. Last month, PB reported quarterly profits had more than doubled to $8.2 billion, well above analysts’ expectations.

The government initially resisted widespread calls for a windfall tax on energy companies, but eventually then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a ‘temporary and targeted tax on energy profits’ of 25% in May until the end of 2025, although he also announced 90% tax relief for companies investing in oil gas extraction in the UK.

Boris Johnson’s replacement as Prime Minister, Liz Truss, then announced that renewable energy companies would also have their revenues capped, despite previous opposition to windfall taxes. Today Prime Minister Sunak has yet to officially comment on the windfall taxes, although The time rreported last week that together with his chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, he was considering raising the rate to 30%, extending it to 2028 and extending it to electricity generators.

The government is expected to unveil a series of spending cuts and tax increases following former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s ill-fated economic plans.

The Bank of England last week hiked interest rates to 3%, the biggest rise in 30 years, as it sought to rein in inflation, and warned the UK was facing the longest recession in a century.