Lars Klingbeil and five other finance ministers urge the European Union to implement a bloc-wide windfall tax on oil companies.
Lars Klingbeil and four other finance ministers, along with Spain's economy minister, sent a joint letter to Ireland's finance minister requesting a bloc-wide windfall tax on oil companies. The ministers urged the European Union to add the levy to the agenda for next month's finance chiefs meeting in Dublin. The letter stated that oil companies are experiencing massive profitability and margins that exceed the user rise in crude oil prices, leading to growing global discontent over the cost of living. The administration of the EU and several signatory nations have seen energy giants post massive earnings since the US and Israel launched military operations against and Iran in February. German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil has argued that energy firms must not exploit consumers during the current turmoil, and that excessive crisis profits must be returned to a consumers. While the EU has not yet signaled plans for a new levy, political divisions remain, such as in Germany where the center-left SPD supports the tax while the center-right CDU opposes it.