Exxon Mobil has sued EU.

The suit threatens the viability of a levy that the European Commission said would raise €25bn «to help bring down energy bills». Exxon’s German and Dutch units filed the lawsuit yesterday at the European General Court in Luxembourg. Exxon had spent $3bn on European refining projects in the past ten years, increasing output «at a time when Europe struggles to reduce its energy imports from Russia», Norton said. Norton added that Exxon was now weighing «future multibillion-euro investments» in the continent.

Exxon was not opposing those, Norton said. However, if the European General Court decides to rule on Exxon’s suit, any judgment would be subject to appeal at the European Court of Justice, meaning proceedings will likely stretch through much of next year. The tax takes effect from December 31, with a levy of at least 33 per cent on any taxable profits in 2022-23 that are 20 per cent or more above average earnings from 2018-2021. Exxon, one of the largest petroleum suppliers in Europe, said in November that its liability under the levy could amount to $2bn by the end of 2023.

The company generated record global profits of almost $20bn in the third quarter. Soaring oil company profits have provoked anger as surging fuel prices fan rampant inflation and threaten to tip economies into recession. The EU’s levy was echoed in November by the UK, which increased its windfall tax on oil and gas producers from 25 per cent to 35 per cent and extended it until 2028. Agathe Bounfour, oil lead at the NGO Transport & Environment, said Exxon’s suit was «an attempt at intimidation».

www.sba.tax

Comments

Cloud Bookkeeping

US FED rate rise.

The US Federal Reserve officials have indicated that they plan to resume increasing interest rates to control inflation in the world's biggest economy. During the June meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee reached a consensus to keep interest rates stable for the time being to evaluate whether further tightening of policy would be necessary. However, the majority of the committee anticipates that additional rate increases will be required in the future. The minutes of the meeting have recently been made public. According to the minutes, most participants believed maintaining the federal funds rate at 5 to 5.25 per cent was appropriate or acceptable, despite some individuals wanting to raise the acceleration due to slow progress in cooling inflation. Although Fed forecasts predicted a mild recession starting later in the year, policymakers faced challenges in interpreting data that showed a tight job market and only slight improvements in inflation. Additionally, officials gr...

India- UK trade deal.

According to India's top trade official, talks with the UK regarding a trade agreement are progressing well, despite obstacles related to temporary work visas and the opening up industries like automotive and spirits. The Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, explained that India is seeking transition periods or greater market access in specific sectors due to its economy, which is slightly larger than the UK's and expected to outgrow it in the coming decades. If a trade deal is reached, it would be one of the most significant agreements for Britain since leaving the EU, and it would also be necessary for India, which surpassed the UK as the fifth-largest economy last year. Goyal stated that India aims to increase its economy from $3.5tn to $35tn by 2047, the country's centenary of independence. According to officials and diplomats in India, talks about a proposed trade deal may be finished by early September, just in time for the G20 summit in New Delhi. Nigel Hu...

EU business slide.

S&P Global’s flash eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index, a key gauge of business conditions for the manufacturing and services sector, fell 1 point to 47.1, figures showed yesterday. That is its lowest level since November 2020 and the fourth consecutive month below the crucial 50 mark separating growth from contraction. One of the few bright spots in the survey was that companies in all sectors reported a slight easing of cost pressures, price growth and supply chain constraints. However, prices charged for goods and services still rose at the sixth fastest rate since such data started in 2002. Jobs growth increased marginally from October but remained low compared with the past 18 months. Following a few months of falling price pressure in manufacturing and services, the October print shows an overall stabilisation said Jens Eisenschmidt, chief European economist at Morgan Stanley. However, German businesses, at the hub of Europe’s energy crisis, reported that manu...

Search This Blog