Who will pay for the energy crisis?

Today the new Prime Minister Liz Truss announced a huge cost of living support package estimated to be worth £150bn. It will freeze the energy bills of consumers and businesses from further rises. 

It’s good that the government is stepping in to protect us from soaring energy bills. This is why we all pay our taxes, not just to provide a safety net in a crisis, but to provide the foundation of a good life in happy times and bad.

The next question must be how will it be paid for? It appears Truss plans to add the cost to government borrowing. At the same time, the new Prime Minister has ruled out asking profiteering oil and gas giants to pay more.

Our analysis shows that UK oil and gas producers are predicted to make a staggering £51 billion in excess profits over the next year. That’s nearly four times more than the £13.5bn excess profits predicted in May. 

We’re calling for a 95% tax on these recording breaking profits, which would raise £44 billion a year for two years. This would go a long way to providing funds for the emergency package. Oil and gas giants need to pay their share. 
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As well as calling for a proper windfall tax, over the coming months we will be making the case that the ultra wealthy should pay more in tax as well. Since the start of the pandemic, the assets of the wealthy have ballooned. Now is the right time to tax wealth properly.