Austria will introduce an excess profit tax for energy producers who take advantage of the sky-high prices. Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler (green party) made the announcement on Saturday on Austrian radio station Ö1.
Kogler has not yet disclosed details, saying that the exact implementation will be revealed early next year. However, he noted that the tax could possibly be introduced retroactively before 2022.
The Austrian Greens are in government with the Austrian People’s Party ÖVP. Until now their co-governors were reluctant to introduce an excess profit tax. At the end of September, the European Union agreed on legislation that allows Member States to skim off part of the surplus profits of energy companies, and drew up a minimum framework for this.
The EU ministers agreed that excess profits (above €180/Megawatt-hour) of all non-gas-fired power stations, such as nuclear power plants or wind farms, can be skimmed off from 1 December, for a period of six months.
The Belgian Federal Government goes beyond that framework, seeking to impose a "crisis contribution" from energy providers. Federal Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten proposes repurposing all profits above €130/Megawatt-hour (MWh) for a period of two years and call for a solidarity contribution of 1.5 cents per litre on petrol and diesel.
