Dutch govt places windfall tax on oil, gas producers

The Dutch government announced on September 20 that it would be imposing a windfall tax on oil and gas producers as part of a package of measures to ease the high cost of energy on consumers.

The levy will be applied to the profits of companies extracting oil and gas, with the government predicting it would raise  €2.8bn ($2.8bn) in 2023 and 2024. 

Other measures the government is introducing to shield consumers from high energy costs include a 10% hike in the minimum wage, a raise in corporate taxes and a price cap on energy contracts, also to be introduced next year, with the maximum set at the price that was at the start of this year.

"More than a million people are at risk of living in poverty,” finance minister Sigrid Kaagsaid in an address on September 20. “That is why the cabinet is coming up with a big fund to ease the impact of inflation and energy prices.”

The European Commission has also proposed an energy windfall tax, that would apply to all power producers other than those that burn gas, as well as extractors of oil and gas, estimating that this would raise some €140bn to help protect Europe from the economic fallout from the energy crisis, including by funding price caps for end-users. National governments in Europe have introduced or are introducing similar measures.