Windfall Taxes Just Add More Problems to the Energy Crisis
Commentary
If there is one sin worse today than producing fossil fuels, it is making money while doing it.
The Australian energy industry is looking on with apprehension at repeated calls for so-called “windfall profit taxes.” There is no predicting the current government, which has shown zero circumspection against interference in energy markets at any level.
The focus of the debate is on Woodside Energy, a Western Australia-based oil and gas company that turned a momentous 223 percent increase in profits this year. That’s large, even compared to other energy companies.
The impressive profits were partly due to a merger, not just the current high prices….