BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany is examining whether it is legally possibie to make retroactive a planned levy on energy companies’ coincidental profits, Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
On Sunday, Berlin imposed a levy on power producers as part of a 65 billion euro ($64.44 billion) package to redistribute power profits from producers that have benefited from high gas prices.
The levy, dubbed a “coincidental profit tax”, is expected to raise revenues in the double-digit billions euro range.
Asked whether the levy could be applied retroactively, Scholz told the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper: “That will have to be checked legally.”
Scholz said the levy was needed to stabilise the electricity market, adding that there would be enough electricity in Europe’s biggest economy but warned the energy crisis would not disappear any time soon.
“Unfortunately, the energy crisis will be with us for some time to come,” he added.
Scholz said Germany’s decision to extend the life of two nuclear power was intended only to ensure there was enough electricity this winter and does not mean Berlin is rethinking its nuclear energy exit.
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(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa, editing by Thomas Escritt)
