Shortly before the midterm elections to be held on November 8, US President Joe Biden appealed to oil companies that announced high profits and said, “Help Americans reduce costs by increasing production.”
“The oil industry is not fulfilling its responsibility to invest in America and support the American people,” Biden said, threatening that otherwise oil companies would face high taxes. Referring to the war in Ukraine, Biden called for oil companies to “stop profiting from war”.
Biden said oil companies “will face high taxes on their excess profits” if they fail to meet their obligations. It was also announced that the White House started a coordinated work with Congress for the said measures.
During his speech, Biden said, “Look, I’m a capitalist. I’ve said that before. I have no problem with companies making fair profits and turning that into investment and innovation. But what’s happening right now doesn’t even come close to that.”
On the other hand, energy experts are of the opinion that it will be difficult to pass a law that will impose additional taxes on energy companies, regardless of which party gains the upper hand in Congress.
Global energy giants continue to announce huge profit rates, taking advantage of the rising energy prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Shell announced that it increased its profit rate by 26 percent compared to the previous quarter and reached a record level in the April-June period this year.