Among the avenues on the table in Europe to lower household energy bills is notably the tax on the excess profits of the major energy groups. But for TotalEnergies, that’s out of the question. The oil giant is in fact brandishing the threat of removing the 20-cent rebate on the price of fuel at the pump if such a measure is adopted.
As RTL reports, the CEO of the TotalEnergies group, Patrick Pouyanné, reacted during a parliamentary hearing to the UN boss’s proposal to introduce a tax on super-profits. “The contribution in 2023 will depend on the level of taxation that you will all decidehe launched to the parliamentarians. I am waiting to see what will come out at European level, what effort will represent the European effort […] see how these profits will be taxed to see if the voluntary part continues or not.“
The pressure is in the French camp, which could be led to oppose this taxation to maintain more attractive prices at the pump.
TotalEnergies also believes that it already pays enough taxes, as reported by its CEO. According to Patrick Pouyanné, the group will pay 30 billion dollars in taxes and production taxes worldwide, including 1.6 and 1.9 billion euros for France. This is 3 times more than in 2020 (6 billion) and almost double the amount paid last year (16 billion).
This is bad news for the many Belgians who now cross the border to refuel, but also for the prospects of seeing energy prices fall. Indeed, the tax on excess profits would be retroceded to the Member States of the European Union, in order to implement various actions intended to reduce energy costs for consumers.