Italy plans to apply a 50% one-off windfall tax next year on the income of energy companies that have benefited from the surge in oil and gas prices, a draft of the government’s 2023 budget shown by Reuters.
The levy has a rate equal to 50% of the part of 2022 corporate income, which is at least 10% higher than the average income reported between 2018 and 2021. It has a ceiling equal to 25% of the value of net assets at the end of 2021.
The scheme is different from the way the Treasury outlined it on Tuesday. That version envisaged a 35% tax from January until July 2023 and calculated on energy companies’ profits rather than income, as in the latest draft.
Rome expects to raise around 2.565 billion euros ($2.66 billion) from the tax, which follows a framework proposed by the European Commission and replaces a similar levy in force this year which has triggered criticism and refusals to pay from multiple firms.
Under the new terms set in the budget, which has still not been officially released, around 7,000 producers and sellers of electricity, natural gas, and petrol products have to pay the amount due by mid-2023.
($1 = 0.9637 euros)