Government drawing up bill to tax energy company windfall profits – PM

Prime minister Luís Montenegro has stated in parliament that the government is drawing up a bill to introduce taxes on windfall profits made by energy companies (as announced in May), which it will then submit to parliament for debate.

Mr Montenegro was speaking during the parliamentary debate in preparation for the European Council meeting today and tomorrow, in response to Fabian Figueiredo, the sole MP from the Left Bloc.

Figueiredo pointed out that finance minister, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, “announced on May 5 that he would go ahead with the windfall tax” and that “more than a month has now passed (…) Have you given up on this tax?”.

“We have not given up”, replied the PM. But the government is definitely taking its time. This may be connected to the comments by economy minister, Manuel Castro Almeida, who also confirmed in May that the windfall tax ‘was being drawn up’, but said that, if the war in Iran were to end, taxing excessive profits would “not be justified”.

The war in Iran does appear to have ended – albeit there are various time-lines still in motion. Thus, the real answer is possibly more that the government is drawing up a bill, but doesn’t know yet whether or not to take it any further.

source material: LUSA

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.