6
Jul
2022
Watch
Taxing windfall profits of energy companies (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, as inflation in the EU shot to a new record in June, cost increases are exacting a deep toll on the economy, eating into most Europeans’ wages. But for many of our largest companies and their shareholders, it has been a very different story. The pandemic, the war and the supply chain bottlenecks have created a smokescreen that allows companies to pass on inflationary costs to consumers via price increases. Is it appropriate that during all this uncertainty that this be a moment in which large corporations continue to enjoy huge profits? A temporary tax that would apply to excess profits of all multinational companies is for sure a good starting point. But the long—term solution must be to reform our laws to tax the companies that benefit most from the EU’s internal market, and to stop the corporate tax-dodging that is rampant today through a global minimum tax. Let’s bring in the revenue we need to support working families, and accelerate the shift to renewable energies. And let’s make this year the last year any company with massive profits pays almost no corporate tax in the EU. Now it’s really time for change.