Number 10 says Johnson will not announce windfall tax on electricity
Downing Street today said Boris Johnson will not extend the government’s energy windfall tax to electricity producers.
There was speculation when the 25 per cent tax on North Sea oil and gas was announced in May that it would include electricity generators, including on wind farms and other green energy producers, however Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said currently “there’s no plans to do that”.
Number 10 said Johnson’s government would not make a call on whether the tax should be extended to electricity producers while the Tory party is in the process of choosing a new leader.
The news saw shares in Drax, owner of the North Yorkshire power station, increase by 6 per cent and shares in SSE rise 3 per cent.
The stock price of British Gas owner Centrica jumped by 4 per cent by 4pm, before closing at 80.08p – exactly how it started the day.
“We would not seek to make any new policies or major fiscal decisions. So there’s no plans to do that,” Johnson’s spokesman said.
“We will continue to evaluate the scale of the profits and consider appropriate steps but there’s no plans to introduce or extend that to that group.”
Former chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in May that the government would hit UK oil and gas producers with a 25 per cent tax on profits, with the money redistributed to households to help with spiralling energy bills.
The tax is expected by the government to raise around £5bn for the Treasury’s coffers, while the total spending package will cost £15bn.
Sunak announced a new scheme alongside the tax, which gives energy producers large tax write-offs if they invest domestically in new plant and equipment.