Spain’s new windfall tax on banks and energy companies could raise more money than anticipated

A new extraordinary tax on the extraordinary profits of banks and energy companies in Spain could generate more than the 3,000 million euros forecast for this year.

The measure introduced as a result of the additional benefits generated by the effects of the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis is expected to generate at least 6,000 million euros in the next two years.

Speaking in Madrid after the Council of Ministers meeting on Tuesday, Finance Minister María Jesús Montero said government coffers could increase further.

“We believe that we could exceed 3,000 million euros this year,” he commented.

the minister revealed that banks have already paid 637 million euros of the new tax before the first installment deadline on Monday, and energy companies have disbursed 817 million euros.

Last week, the oil company Repsol filed an appeal before the National Court against the temporary tax that is being used to pay for the government’s anti-inflationary programs.

María Jesús Montero said: “Banks and energy companies have produced unprecedented profits with energy companies reporting increases of up to 43%, and some of them only declaring results that go as far as last September.”

“This tax is quite a manageable amount given the volume of the profits and it is not a confiscatory tax, but something proportional to these profits,” he added.

Referring to the banking crisis that began in 2008, Montero said that “citizens had to bear the rescue of millionaires” and now “it was up” to these entities to help society.