Spanish Oil Company CEO's Daily Column: "Collect Wealth Tax Instead of Windfall Tax"

Josu Jon Imaz, CEO of Repsol [Image source= Bloomberg]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] The CEO of Repsol, Spain's largest oil company, opposed the government's plan to impose a windfall tax and wrote an article in a daily newspaper urging the government to collect a wealth tax instead.

A windfall tax refers to a tax imposed on energy companies that have made huge profits due to the sharp rise in crude oil and natural gas prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to Bloomberg on the 29th (local time), Josu Jon Imaz, CEO of Repsol, argued in an opinion piece published on the 28th in the Spanish daily El Pais that the windfall tax imposed on certain industries and companies above a certain scale is a discriminatory tax.

CEO Imaz pointed out that the windfall tax would undermine companies' capacity to invest in eco-friendly energy and would also affect employment. He also argued that the windfall tax is not a tax imposed on wealthy individuals.

He claimed that if the government truly wants to tax the rich, it needs to be braver and should raise income taxes and impose taxes on those who have capital and money.

He personally expressed satisfaction with the taxes imposed on his income and revealed that thanks to the taxes paid by others, he was able to receive scholarships and study throughout his life.

The Socialist government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced its plan to impose a windfall tax at the end of July and is expected to submit related legislation to the parliament soon. The windfall tax is scheduled to be applied next year, and similar taxes will be imposed on banks.

The Spanish government, when providing fuel subsidies in April, bore three-quarters of the cost at that time and made the oil companies bear the remaining one-quarter.

Bloomberg introduced CEO Imaz as having been politically active in the past, noting that when he served as the leader of the Basque Nationalist Party in the 2000s, he was an important political ally of current Prime Minister Sanchez.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.