Eastern wants BT to pay 'half windfall tax'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Eastern, the largest of the 12 regional electricity companies, yesterday urged Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to impose the windfall tax in such a way that British Telecom was made liable for nearly half the total raised.
The company also hinted strongly in a submission to the Treasury that if BT and British Gas escaped the levy then Eastern would join in a legal challenge.
At a meeting with senior Treasury officials the company, led by chairman John Devaney, said that the fairest and most practical means of levying the tax would be on the shareholder gains made by the privatised utilities in the first year after privatisation. On that basis Eastern calculates that BT would be liable to pay for 47 per cent of the levy or just under pounds 2.5bn if the tax raises pounds 5bn. British Gas, meanwhile, would have to bear 15 per cent of the levy but the 12 RECs and the two Scottish electricity companies, Scottish Power and Scottish Hydro, would only have to pay 13 per cent of the total levy. The water companies would pay 15.5 per cent.
In a written submission to Mr Brown, Eastern said that calculating the tax over a longer period than one year would move it away from the concept of being a one-off windfall tax and penalise those companies which had made genuine efficiency gains while compensating those that had performed poorly.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments