The ExxonMobil oil refinery in Port-Jerome-sur-Seine, France: The energy company is now suing the EU over the new tax on excess profits.
Image: Reuters
The energy company believes that the EU has exceeded its powers with the tax. The company fears costs of two billion dollars – and warns of a lack of investment in Europe’s energy supply.
Dhe energy company Exxon has sued the EU over the new tax on excess profits. The European Union has thus exceeded its powers, said a spokesman for the US group on Wednesday. The tax is counterproductive, makes investments unattractive and undermines investor confidence. Exxon will include the tax in its considerations for future billion-dollar investments in European energy supply.
Exxon CFO Kathryn Mikells said in a conversation with analysts on December 8 that the EU tax could cost her company at least two billion dollars by the end of 2023. Exxon announced net income of just under $20 billion for the third quarter at the end of October.
The newspaper “Financial Times” first reported on the lawsuit. A statement from the EU Commission was initially not available. The high energy prices this year brought the industry high profits, but also contributed significantly to the high inflation in many countries. Accordingly, calls for an excess profit tax were heard in politics. In October, Chevron CFO Pierre Breber warned against taxing oil production. This would deter investors, he told Reuters news agency.
In September, the EU states agreed on a temporary random profit tax for oil, natural gas and refinery companies. Germany is implementing the requirement in the 2022 Annual Tax Act: Profits that exceed the average profit by a fifth compared to previous years are taxed at 33 percent. The revenue, estimated at one to three billion euros, is intended to help finance the electricity price brake for consumers.
