Tax Justice & Energy Crisis: How to Tax Windfall Profits

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022 and the ensuing war have brought instability to the global economy, and to the economy of the European Union in particular. The upsurge in energy prices has dramatically increased firms’ input costs and households’ energy expenditures. Consumers and firms struggle by the effects of inflation that is driven mainly by energy prices. However, this conflict has come as an opportunity for some companies: those operating in the energy sector have seen their profits and stock prices rise rapidly, extracting significant rents from the increase in oil and gas prices in the process.

In response, EU countries have initially taken unilateral measures, while they have agreed in September 2022 to implement a common solidarity contribution of the windfall profits of energy companies. The solidarity contribution will be implemented in 2023 for profits made in 2022. Implementation rests on member states and there is a significant diversity of responses across them. Yet, it is uncertain how effective the solidarity contribution will be, what problems it will face and how much revenue it will bring.

To take stock of the ensuing situation, to discuss implementation of the solidarity contribution and other additional policy options, the EU Tax Observatory and Eteron are organising a hybrid event on March 1st in Athens. The event will bring forth both European and national dimension of the debate, and will include novel proposals such as how to tax windfall profits based on the increase in market capitalisation of energy companies. It will include a short online intervention by Gabriel Zucman, a presentation of our note “A Modern Excess Profit Tax” by Manon Francois and an in-person panel on the country-specific situation in Greece.

Presentations

• Gabriel Zucman (online)
• Manon Francois

Panelists

• Panos Kosmas – Financial Editor at Efsyn/ Efimerida ton Syntakton
• Eirini Ntai – Economist and Coordinator of the Social Analysis Unit at ENA Institute
• Fragiskos Koutentakis – Head of the Parliamentary Budget Office and Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics of the University of Crete
• Antonis Papagiannidis, Journalist and General Manager of Economia Group

Related publication

• A Modern Excess Profit Tax, November 14th 2022, EU Tax Observatory

Details

? March 1st, 2023 – 5pm – 7:30pm (CET, Paris)

? Eteron, Athens, Greece

Acknowledgements

The event is co-funded by the European Union