The United Kingdom has imposed a tax on the superprofits of oil companies, but this example does not allow us to draw any lessons for France. The British surcharge is imposed only on the profits generated by the production of hydrocarbons in the North Sea, a windfall that France does not have. After having initially considered it, Downing Street, on the other hand, gave up taxing the superprofits of electricity producers.
As the battle to succeed Boris Johnson heats up, the two candidates to become prime minister – favorite Liz Truss and challenger Rishi Sunak – are instead debating the benefits of tax cuts. The first has made tax cuts its hobbyhorse while the second claims to defend them, but believes that the economic situation does not allow it for the moment. Liz Truss categorically ruled out extending the Superprofits Tax to other sectors: “We need to keep taxes low to attract investment”she explained.
The superprofits tax across the Channel was announced on May 26. The UK government has introduced an additional tax of 25% on profits from oil and gas extraction in the North Sea. This is in addition to the 40% tax that was already in place, itself a specificity of the oil sector, while corporate tax across the Channel is 19%. In total, oil and gas companies will therefore have to pay 65% tax on profits made in the North Sea from May 26. According to the British State, this should bring in around 5 billion pounds sterling (6 billion euros) this year.
This sum should make it possible to finance around a third of the exceptional aid to households to reduce their energy bills. The surcharge must remain in place until “that gas and electricity prices return to a more normal level” or, at the latest, in 2025.
“Extraordinary Profits”
Shell and BP, the two British oil giants, are particularly in the sights of the general public. Between 2015 and 2020, they each received more from the British state than they paid to it in taxes (except in 2017 for Shell). Partly, with a low barrel of oil, they generated little profit, especially since exploitation in the North Sea, deep and technical, is expensive. In part, they also received public aid for the dismantling of historic platforms installed in the 1970s and 1980s.
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