6 EU countries call for an extra tax on oil companies
WHAT HAPPENED
Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland, Portugal, and Spain requested to discuss an additional tax on the extraordinary profits of oil companies. It is just a proposal: to approve it, the agreement of all 27 EU countries is needed.
WHY IT MATTERS
The six governments say that oil companies have increased their profits from gasoline and other refined products more than the price of crude oil. If approved, they would pay more taxes; the money could help alleviate the cost of gasoline and heating.
AND FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO
For households, the potential benefit would be support against higher energy costs, although there is no guarantee that prices at the gas station will decrease. For investors, an approval would reduce the profitability of the affected oil companies; for now, the impact is uncertain.
💬 TELL IT LIKE THIS
“The EU is debating whether to charge oil companies more for extraordinary profits to help pay for energy that has become more expensive due to the war.”