Chambers of Commerce across the country have written a joint letter to the Chancellor demanding the energy profits levy (EPL), or windfall tax, is abolished.
The British Chambers of Commerce, Scottish Chambers of Commerce and Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce say the tax is having a damaging impact on North Sea companies and causing thousands of job losses.
They have called for the levy to be replaced with a “stable, proportionate and predictable” fiscal regime. The Chancellor is thought to be considering a change to the levy, either an earlier termination or a new tax.
The letter follows similar action last week by industry trade bodies Scottish Renewables and Offshore Energies UK (OEUK).
It states that the tax “is now the single greatest barrier to investment and growth in the North Sea”, warning that it is “deterring capital, stifling confidence, and accelerating decline in one of the UK’s most productive industrial ecosystems”.
A recent report by AGCC warned that one in four companies in North-east Scotland cut jobs in the last three months, while industry body OEUK has warned of 1,000 job losses per month across the industry if the EPL remains in place until 2030.
“More than three years after it was introduced as a temporary measure, the Energy Profits Levy has become a self-defeating policy,” said AGCC chief executive Russell Borthwick.
“Removing the windfall tax and replacing the blanket ban on new licences with a policy that considers demand and emissions would strengthen energy security, sustain employment and unlock billions in additional revenue for the Treasury.”
The letter is accompanied by a video of he British Chambers of Commerce director-general Shevaun Haviland who urges the government to back home-grown energy, and sets out the case for protecting domestic sources of gas over imports.
Comment: Reeves must be a faithful, not a traitor
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