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Sparkbrook MP gives his support for windfall tax on energy companies

20 August, 2008

Roger Godsiff has added his support to other MPs who are calling for a Windfall Tax on energy companies who have benefited by massive increases in profits resulting from the rise in energy prices.

Says Roger “The Labour Government in 1997 quite rightly imposed a Windfall Tax on utility companies which had been sold off cheaply by the previous Conservative Government and this brought in over £5 billion to finance the ‘New Deal’ programme to get young people back into work.

There is an unanswerable case, in my opinion, for imposing a similar tax on the privatised energy companies because their profits have risen nearly 6 fold in three years. Recently Scottish and Southern Energy put up gas prices by 29.2% and electricity bills by 19.2% while Eon raised prices by 26% and 16%. British Gas and EDF Energy have imposed similar price rises.

It is all very well for the energy companies to say that the Government has also benefited by increased taxation from rising energy prices but more and more people are being forced into ‘fuel poverty’ and there should be a ‘Windfall Tax’ on the energy companies to fund a comprehensive programme of help for people who are having to spend more than 10% of their income on the cost of fuel bills.”