The government has updated a windfall tax on crude oil produced in the United States. The windfall tax rate is Rs 6,400 per tonne, according to an official announcement.
What is a Windfall Tax?
- Windfall taxes are intended to tax revenues derived from an external, often unusual event, such as an increase in energy prices as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
- These are gains that cannot be traced to anything the firm actively did, such as an investment strategy or corporate expansion.
- A windfall is defined as a “unearned, unanticipated gain in income through no additional effort or expense” by the US Congressional Research Service (CRS).
- Oil markets, whose price fluctuations contribute to fluctuating or inconsistent profits for the business, are one area where such levies have been constantly proposed.
Features of Windfall Tax
- Impositions imposed on unanticipated and undeserved gains: Windfall tax is levied on earnings or gains earned by a firm as a result of events or forces beyond their control that they did not actively seek or pursue.
- One-time tax: It is often levied as a one-time tax, in addition to standard tax rates, and is not a regular or ongoing tax.
- Windfall taxes are typically imposed on specific sectors or businesses when earnings have increased significantly owing to external causes such as price fluctuations, supply disruptions, or regulatory changes.
- Windfall taxes are imposed for the purpose of redistributing unanticipated gains, financing social welfare systems, and establishing a supplementary revenue source for the government.
- Design flaws: Given their expediency and political nature, windfall taxes may suffer from design flaws.
- Influence on investment: Windfall taxes may cause market uncertainty and have a negative influence on future investment because corporations may be hesitant to invest in a sector with an unstable tax regime.
When did India start doing this?
- India slapped a windfall tax on domestic crude oil producers who it believed were benefiting from high oil prices in July 2022.
- It also placed a new excise tax on diesel, petrol and air turbine fuel (ATF) exports.
- In addition, unlike other countries, India was still buying subsidised Russian oil.
How is it imposed?
- Governments often assess this as a one-time tax in addition to the regular tax rates.
- The Central Government imposed a windfall profit tax of $23,250 per tonne on domestic crude oil output, which has since been revised four times fortnightly.
- The most recent revision came on August 31, when it was raised from 13,000 to 13,300 per tonne.
Reasons for reinstating
- Windfall taxes have been introduced by governments around the world for a variety of reasons, including redistribution of unanticipated benefits when high prices benefit producers at the expense of consumers.
- Financing social welfare programmes, and
- Additional revenue source for the government
Problems in levying such levies
- Windfall taxes may suffer from design flaws due to their expedient and political nature. There is also the difficulty of establishing what constitutes actual windfall earnings and who should be taxed, which raises concerns about the exemption threshold for smaller businesses.
- Potential investment impact: Windfall taxes may cause market uncertainty and have a detrimental influence on future investment because corporations may be hesitant to invest in a sector with an unstable tax environment.
- Potential tax internalisation: Introducing a temporary windfall profit tax may restrict future investment because prospective investors may internalise the risk of potential taxes while making investment decisions.
- Exemption threshold for smaller businesses: Determining the exemption threshold for smaller businesses involves problems regarding which businesses should be taxed and what level of earnings is normal or excessive.
- Difficulty determining true windfall profits: Another issue is determining what constitutes true windfall profits, as it can be difficult to distinguish between profits attributable to external events and those attributable to a company’s active investment strategy or business expansion.
Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/oil-gas/windfall-tax-reimposed-on-local-crude-oil-duty-on-diesel-exports-scrapped/articleshow/99594394.cms