The 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. The tax is counterproductive, makes investments unattractive and undermines investor confidence. Exxon will include the levy in its considerations for future billion-dollar investments in European energy supply. A statement from the EU Commission was initially not available.
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. The company announced net income of just under $20 billion for the third quarter at the end of October.
The high energy prices this year have brought the industry high profits overall, 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’s chief financial officer, Pierre Breber, warned against taxing oil production. This would deter investors, he told the news outlet Reuters.
In September, the EU states agreed on such a temporary random profit tax for oil, natural gas and refinery companies. Germany is implementing the requirement in the Annual Tax Act 2022: profits that exceed the average profit by one 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.