The Government has set out plans to wind down the Windfall Tax on energy firms in response to demands from the industry.
Analysts from Uplift told Sky News that the introduction of this price floor will further undermine an already weak windfall tax and paving the way for further oil and gas extraction.
The Energy Profits Levy already contained a loophole which could have helped tackle fuel poverty last winter, as well as acting as a handout to the fossil fuel industry with the UK government expected to give highly profitable oil & gas companies £11.4 billion in tax breaks to develop new fields.
A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:
“Energy bills are predicted to remain high and levels of household energy debt are still surging.
“Any talk of reducing or ending the windfall tax while millions still struggle through the energy bills crisis is premature.
“The Government should keep all options on the table to ensure the funding is available to fix Britain’s broken energy system into the long term.”
The decision has been described as shortsighted in light of the lack of long-term certainty about energy bills and Greenpeace UK’s climate campaigner, Georgia Whitaker, said:
“The Government’s windfall tax on oil and gas companies already contains more loopholes than a block of Swiss cheese. And now they want to scrap it altogether.”