The pro-tax superprofit camp has a big new player: Antonio Guterres. The United Nations secretary-general called on Wednesday to tax oil and gas groups, which have made record profits.
“It is immoral that oil and gas companies are making record profits from the current energy crisis at the expense of the poorest, at a huge cost to the climate,” the Portuguese wrote on Twitter. “I urge all governments to tax these excess profits and use the funds to support the most vulnerable people.”
The financial earnings season has again delivered impressive gains for the Big 5 oil companies. In the second quarter, TotalEnergies saw its net profit more than double in a year, to stand at $5.7 billion, after $4.9 billion in the first quarter and $16 billion for all of 2021.
For its part, the British Shell published this Thursday a huge net profit of 18,000 million dollars in the second quarter.
Several countries, including Italy and the United Kingdom, have already implemented an exceptional tax system on excess profits. France, on the other hand, rejected such a levy, Bruno the mayor brushing with the back of his hand last week “a kind of Pavlovian reflex in France.”
“As soon as there is a good result, a tax. As soon as there is a problem, a tax,” he complained, favoring direct actions by companies such as the reduction in fuels announced by TotalEnergies.
Source: BFM TV
