Topic: Nations should impose special taxes on oil firms: UN Secretary General (Read 373 times)

The pictorial representation of households and Oil company was good.The oil company was giving importance as compared to the house holds.They also should impose the taxes on the oil firm.But it’s only decision of the UNSG and not by the concern country government.The income from the oil was keep increasing to counter target the war in Russia and Ukraine war of independence.The oil companies taxes was huge from the source and the money should be used for the war time circumstances.

What we do not understand completely is that we shouldn't let these companies dictate economy as much as they want just in the name of capitalism. If we keep going down the road of "well if they do not make a profit, they may stop, that would be even worse", well it won't, just let the government build one and they could offer for a lot cheaper. You know why governments don't do that? Because they are liberal and allow people to do what they want, hence why we have oil companies, but if oil companies are charging the highest ever oil rate in a long time, causing inflation, causing a ton of people to not have enough money, causing prices of even simplest food like wheat to go up, then either you tax them insanely high, or you put a price cap on their sell, because right now they are charging way too much. If we just allow them to jack up the prices as they wish, what stops them from making it 20 bucks? If they all agree together, they can do that, why stop them? Why stop there, how about 30? How about 50? How about 100? At some point people would stop buying gas right? So they are charging as much as they can while hurting people but not making them go another way. They know that government would intervene at some point, and the best thing would be doing that today, so they won't ruin the whole world for some more profit in the name of shareholders and capitalism.

Why are you wishing them to decline? LoL, I think that was a bad idea and it doesn't only affect the company itself but also the economy of one's country, so be careful what you wish for because it might turn into reality but there is also a chance for this to be real since there's also renewable energy that people can use such as solar, heat, wind, hydro and many more.

Electric cars are also being built up but they are kinda expensive at the moment so expect that there will still be a demand in oil or petroleum products. Oils aren't the only one that can pollute the environment anyway, but there are still many more and it will also depend on the people's actions so don't totally put the blame on them.

Oil companies really should be taxed so heavily that this industry gradually declines, and the consumption of oil and petroleum products decreases. Mankind, finally, needs to take care of its survival in a global sense and stop poisoning the environment and changing the climate. We need to switch to alternative sources of electricity and make them cheaper and more efficient. Only with such a position will we still have a chance for survival. But this requires a clear strategy of action.

Agreed 100%. Already the shale oil producers in the United States are saying that they won't increase their production, because the government has put so many obstacles on doing business. In the end, it is the ordinary people who suffer. As the oil production goes down, the prices increase by 2x or 3x. You can compare the crude oil prices in 2020 (when Trump was the president) to those in 2022 (when Biden is the POTUS). It is the ordinary people who end up spending their hard earned money on expensive fuel, while the government is happy with increased tax revenue.

There's totally is.
And they're reasoning out the war and etc. I don't know that OPEC has already decreased the supply before the war has started. I only heard it happen this year when the war is already happening like just a few months ago.
I just hope that those in power will have to stop this manipulation and they can reduce the prices and let the supply flow again worldwide. But I guess this is all planned and they want really to make a great reset and manipulate prices of everything as they know when they control petrol/oil, they control everything.

Unfortunately very few countries want to be the one to make the first move in these situations, as it might make their business environment look more risky in the long term and scare big businesses into other jurisdictions. It takes a lot of courage to be the countries that impose these taxes and it should be commended, however they were only windfall taxes which meant one off's, they need to pay higher taxes indefinitely. One thing to consider however is that a lot of big pension funds still have big chunks invested and make a lot of money for retirees / future retirees by owning the shares, even if we ignore the big pots that politicians probably have too.

Temporary state regulation - I consider a possible way to solve a critical situation. BUT !
Not at the level of the international market, and with compensation for direct losses, to those who agree with the rules set by the state, often not very reasonable ...
But here it is generally nonsense - will they force ALL companies in the world to impose this "fine"? On what basis? And where will the money go? And who calculates the cost? Or maybe it would be more logical then to impose a penalty on those who unleashed this conflict and started not only military terrorism, but also economic? Or is it "other"?

This headline reeks of communism.

You can't get mad at the oil companies just because they are making profits. For years they worked for a loss. Has this shithead wanted to help them when they were making no profits? No, he didn't care.

These are very dangerous talks threatening the existence of capitalism.

I respect any other person's opinion, if it does not contradict the norms of morality, logic. And I respect your opinion ... Although I don’t agree Time will judge, I’m sure the UN, after his antics in 2022, not easy times await, and perhaps not only reorganization, but also .. dissolution. As for me, today this organization has lost its status, value, the logic of existence, and the logic of the rules of work...

I think there are manipulation going on in the Oil sector the way I look at the issue. Even before the war in Ukraine, OPEC has threaten to short down supply of oil from member company and this war just escalated the tendencies for scarcity and this whole artificial thing of oil facilities being attacked and causing shortages making officials in charge to embezzle more of public wealth through oil.

I don't think that special taxes will help everyone from these increasing prices of oil. What UN must do is to pressure these companies together with the OPEC to do something to lessen the current price of oil that we're buying.
It's starting to be seen that there's no way they can do to mitigate the continuous price hike of oil products and with this, they're raking billions of dollars and they're boasting that. While a simple person like you and me, we suffer from their gains. Yeah, there's the war and etc, but I'm sure that there could be ways of at least decrease it a little by little.

Nothing has changed bro. UN is as it has always been an American organization, it is literary in their law. Obama not only made this public but also ensured it to be unchangeable. The law dictates that UN is obligated to fulfill United States' interests at all times in all their actions and decisions!
So if you see they behave in a certain way, it is because US has ordered them to. And if that behavior changes, it is just the new orders, nothing more...

Unfortunately, for the last few decades there has been a steady reduction in human IQ. Intelligent people are having less children and it is the drug addicts and alcoholics who are having them by the dozens. Obviously it is very clear that if the oil companies are taxed more, then the price of oil products such as diesel, gasoline and natural gas will also get costlier. But 90% of the ordinary people doesn't have the IQ to understand this. And that is the reason why politicians from the green and socialist parties get elected year after year.

Unfortunately, the UN is a highly corrupt structure. I used to treat her somehow, if not positively, then neutrally. Probably because it did not concern me much, and they took some actions. But this year, the UN, as an international instrument of law and legitimacy, has shown itself not only as impotent, but moreover, how cowardly I am and an inferior organization. This applies not only to the UN, but also to some other international organizations, such as the Red Cross.

BUT ! It seems that with one hand they feed and try to play along, and the other is really afraid. There is an assumption that after a "convincing conversation" with the representatives of the United States and Britain, the UN decided that it was necessary to behave, if not "better", then more or less correctly. Today's vote on reparations to Ukraine from the Russian Federation showed some change in the behavior of the organization itself. The fear of survival won over the craving for corruption

I'm not sure how true that is because these LNG supplies are heading for European LNG terminals and the problem there is that the unloading and conversion of LNG is going to take a lot of time which means there is a queue of tankers waiting to be unloaded simply because the terminal is busy!
In fact one of the reasons why gas price dropped was this. They got too desperate to sell their cargo faster that it created a fake "higher supply" slightly decreasing the price.

I'm glad to see others are catching on to this fact. Although it was clear from the day it was created back in 1945. Did you know that we were literary the first country to file the first complaint to UN? It was about the Allies after WWII and it was completely useless

I'll start from afar
1. The UN has completely discredited itself as an international organization. Starting from the failure to fulfill their direct obligations, ending with the deepest corruption, and even some barely concealed corruption ..
2. The oil market does not need to be regulated. Manual control rarely gives a positive result, especially when you do not control it at 100%. And that means one thing - you just need to remove inadequate players, or rather one. And the market itself is stabilizing. If there are no economic terrorist attacks, bribery, threats and pressure, the market will recover on its own and give consumers an adequate price.
But in any case, do not give this process to the corrupt UN!

Special taxes? They are giving them money to help them make oil cheaper, while these companies take that money and then use it for lobbying and jack up their prices instead. Look at all the oil companies in the world right now, aside from the Russian ones, we are seeing them doing a lot better than any other year, and the prices of oil is high. Which is a proof that they are actually capable of dropping the price of oil anytime they want, not the oil as an investment one, but the gas you put in your car could be lowered in price, considering how much profit they made, they could just make a little less and we would all be living a better life.

I am of the opinion that nation should impose special tax on oil firm because they are deliberately making oil and gas scarce. There is a report that oil firms are intentionally making gas or crude scarce because they want to make more profit. There was news by Aljazeera that dozens of tankers carrying about $2bn worth of natural gas are slowly sailing around northwest Europe and the Iberian Peninsula because they are holding out for higher market prices. They have been instructed by their parent companies to move slowly believing that colder weather will increase demand for energy and in turn drive up prices.

Is this not economic sabotage in the name of capitalism?

Oil prices are not determined by these companies, it is calculated based on what people are willing to pay for it. If people are willing to pay a lot to get it because we are lacking oil from a region, then the price would go up of course. This is what the free market is doing.

I am not saying we should regulate the price, I am saying we should charge them with a lot more taxes, when companies make 51 billion dollars in profit, that’s a lot, and if given the right other companies could do the same and these have nothing special about them. So, if 51 billion became 30 billion and that 20 billion went to building more houses or schools or hospitals, that would be fine by me.

I don't think reducing tax is one sure way to fight inflation. Tax is one of the ways to check inflation that whether to reduce or to increase, so it can work in both ways. If the oil revenue is soaring for oil companies because of the wars and they are generating high income then the best way to shave some of those monies to avoid increase inflation is to push tax up for high income earners that will touch including those oil companies this can be in both ways. Likewise in interest rates it, the interest in borrowing can be increased to also decrease the cash flow.

In the end it is a socialist measure offered as a solution to a problem created by socialism. The war has exacerbated the problem but the increase in energy prices started earlier, and it has a very clear solution: make it easier for companies to extract oil and compete with each other.

This is part of the more general problem of inflation, which also has a very clear solution, which always works: reduce government spending, lower taxes and raise rates as much as necessary, much more than they are now.

At least the UN is already expressing some unrealistic proposals for implementation, and not only its deep concern and verbal condemnation of the illegal actions of other states. Even in this case, we see that the UN has no real powers, and therefore this organization has long been outdated and is subject to either liquidation or a radical transformation. Now the world needs an international organization with great powers and lightning-fast reaction and efficiency.
Most likely, in this case, it is necessary to oblige the oil giants not to exceed the price of oil by more than a certain fixed amount, because raising taxes will not lead to the desired consequences.

But these companies are making a hell lot of profit. The government can insist that they should not increase the price of there products and still pay these special taxes. If the activities of this firms are not regulated, these companies can instigate instabilities in more countries because they know they would make profit from those conflicts. There should be a way of making them give support to the suffering masses.  

If countries impose more taxes on oil firms, wouldn't this result to higher gas prices too? I mean, it is unfortunate that these things are happening across the globe, but I bet that oil firms don't really want this to happen (except those Russian dudes lol). Also, what's the gurantee that these special taxes would be put to good use? If anything this can fund the pockets of the corrupt government official and leave not a single penny to the common man.

While this might sound all nice and liberal, it's a fucking horrible idea.  Taxes shouldn't be used as a political weapon, to redistribute wealth, or to do anything other than fund the government, and if increases are needed because of the need for more money, then those increases ought to be fair and rational.

The "excessive profits" phrase really got me there.  In whose eyes is any profit excessive?  That's something only a socialist would say.

That's true--and it's very fucked up--but that doesn't mean the idea of taxing corporations when their profits happen to be extraordinary is a good one.  Or a fair one.

Most of the time the most popular brands are used as examples. The biggest oil companies nowadays are not all controlled by the west but by China and who will miss Saudi Arabia's giant Aramco?

There are a lot of replies already and pretty sure it's mentioned too that putting an additional tax on these giant companies will only make them raise their oil prices too. In the end, it is the common people that will suffer and pay the imposed additional tax.

The problem is most government officials are not serving the huge chunk which is the ordinary people but they are serving these giant companies and powerful people that funded their campaigns or influenced their appointments.   

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will only increase the oil price to absorb the taxes that they have to pay. They are the giants who are making the rules for the different governments.  

I will rather put pressure on governments to remove all the fuel levies and fees and taxes that are added to the petrol and gas prices ....that are one of the main factors that are inflating the fuel prices.  

If the subs given to them gets cut, then there will be some of them who will hold the political parties responsible for it and increase their price. It is like a blackmail, give us some money so we give the oil for cheaper, and if you do not do that, there will be double of that coming out of people’s pockets.

What should be done instead is regulation. If you end up saying "this is the max price you could sell a gallon of oil for" then it will be fine, our nation does that and it works. Sure, it makes oil companies make less profit, but they do make a profit and that’s what business should suppose to be, making profit, not skinning the milk out of everyone that have to pay.

We have seen cases in which after taxes has been imposed, the companies go ahead to adjust price or reduce quantity so as to make up for the tax they paid. Oil is a very necessary commodity for everyday living and as such lessons need be learned from the Russian/Ukrainian war In how over dependence on one source for oil and gas can lead to inflation for those dependent countries all over Europe. A friend of mine was of the notion that  creating competition so as these companies understand the value of preference is valid.
If the UN secretary general imposes the special tax on these oil firms, the final consumer gets to bear the brunt. If more oil firms are built, the need to impose special taxes will be almost unnecessary.

I certainly agree with it. Only ordinary people would suffer from it because the prices of our daily necessities would increase either. It will make our situation worst. The inflation crisis has been hitting us hard and if they will tax oil, it will only drag us suffer more than what we could bear. Most of us are just grinding each day to survive and this plan will surely hit poor people.

That's the million dollar question, and I'm afraid there may not be any correct answer to that because I believe any route we take will get corrupted eventually and people will find a way to exploit it. Of course it is easier to exploit some systems than others. Maybe the solution should be sought in a better and independent lawmakers and regulatory body that is not easily corrupted to redefine the laws that favor those with "power".

The problem isn't only in economics, take democracy for example. It is good on paper but in practice it is the worst thing that has happened to humanity, since we place the fate of a nation in the hands of millions of uneducated people who vote with their emotions for the candidate that has fooled them better than the rest (ie. exploited the system).

You are right that tax will reduce their income because they are earning too much. This is what they say the rich only get richer while the poor can become poorer but in order to stop that from happening, those countries who haven't imposed a tax yet in oil should do it so that the money that people spend in oil can also be returned to them later on. I think this won't make the circulation of money lesser but the money can circulate more if let say the government can redistribute the tax in the form of cash assistance.

They have their own budget but it does not mean that other countries will only depend on them or other countries won't do the same thing. It just feels not right.

There's so much we can hate about capitalism, yes; but I wonder, which alternative, which truly works in reality, is better? The system which precedes capitalism like mercantilism was definitely not as free. Or should we opt for socialism? Or, is the idea of free market realistic, and could actually be translated into real day-to-day commerce?

Anyway, I agree with you that this special tax is not going to address anything. If at all, it will only further burden the consuming public. After all, as I've said, everything will only be passed on to them. You impose more tax responsibilities on them, they will simply increase prices and things will continue running smoothly from their end.

How about imposing such tax on conglomerates in all industries that would rather utilize their profit in creating a monopolistic landscape instead of paying their employees(read AMAZON).

Anyhow, carbon tax is a better alternative than such "grotesque tax" scheme. At least it will force companies to be environment conscious  

You're basically advocating for punishing oil companies by imposing new taxes on them just because they turned more profit ? how is this even legal.

Going by your logic (or UN's logic for that matter), US should also tax apple,amazon or google if they happen to make more profit this year right ? 

Fossil fuels are usually heavily subsidized by the state.



Image link:  https://i.ibb.co/crNVFJ5/oil-subsidies.jpg

https://subsidizinggreen.blogspot.com/2011/12/history-of-subsidies-in-united-states.html

Rather than raise taxes. In the united states, it would make more sense to simply cut subsidies.

Giving free handouts to oil companies in the form of subsidies while simultaneously raising taxes on oil. Increases inefficiency.

People don't care about this that much. They think it doesn't affect them. But one day they will wake up and realize it does greatly affect them and their standard of living. And hopefully they will take this issue more seriously then.

Imposing taxes on these companies will result in additional costs over the price of oil, because in most cases, countries will charge that cost to individuals and will not pay it, and therefore oil bills will increase for the individual even if they obtain government support.
The best solution is to rationalize consumption as much as possible and support global stability, as there are areas in Libya and Venezuela that are rich in oil, but political problems are what make supplies stop.

As for the natural gas problem, it is a separate and complex crisis.

That's one of the damages capitalism has done to the world. The minority who own all the money also control everything else including the law and regulations. Which is why in countries with the worst case of capitalism they also pay the least amount of taxes, sometimes even 0 taxes!
These special taxes are also not going to fix anything partly because Guterres is talking for himself lol but also because worse case scenario for these big companies is increasing prices to cover that tax.

It's quite ironic to put taxes on these people because these companies aren't going to pay the taxes themselves they will eventually shift the burden of tax to the customers which will ultimately increase the overall price of the oil and increase inflation even more. So I don't think it's a very wise decision to do so. Unless you can bring a law that they can't even pass the effect of this on the consumers.

Sudden change in the tax policy simply because few companies managed to earn more than their previous year is fair? And do you think increasing the tax for the four companies will be benefitable for the other people who is in need? If that much fund needed in reality then why not reduce the fund allocation for their defense an give a small percentage to the people who is in need!

I understand that to tax is to reduce the earning strength of who is in concern so that there is lesser money circulating to avoid increase inflation but if the UN secretary Antonio guteres is making this statement, it doesn't make any much meaning because these companies also have budget for social responsibilities which also goes back to their host countries.

It's a blatant lie that the increased energy prices are caused by corporate greed. The energy companies operate on specific margins that are independent of what the raw materials for the goods they produce are sold at. No matter what the cost of the raw materials, the profit margin on relative terms will stay the same. It seems as if the UN doesn't understand supply and demand, nor recognize the tight energy constrains that were artificially placed on countries who decided it was prudent to ditch oil/gas for greener and less efficient forms of energy.

They got what they asked for. I suppose it's easier to demonize the big oil/gas corporations instead of pointing out that the revitalization of energy in Europe away from fossil fuels, and the dependence on foreign sources, got them in the mess they're in.

Noble thought! It will help governments earn some extra money out of this crisis. But a government needs to understand that these oil companies are mass employers. They must not start firing people to make provisions for this extra tax. Then the result will be negative on economy which is already struggling with high inflation.

Also third world countries can misappropriate such taxes which may not reach to the target mass and can go into the political funding.

Yeah, tax the rich I mean the oil firms and see how they will just increase the price to cover back their loss in tax. After the covid pandemic, I have a strong distrust for all of the UN officials because most of them still keep their seats at the UN but doing a shitshow of it. How about we fire them, reduce the UN contribution then use that money to subsidize fuel/oil prices till Russia and Ukraine war sort out? At best, maybe 6 months from now on till Russia is out of their tanks, supplies, and conscripts. What do you guys think? I think it sounds better than increasing tax on the oil firms.

This is the strategy that goes in the direction of showing the common people that they (politicians) were elected by the people in the elections, actually on the side of the common man. History tells us that this was never true, and that the rich have a very large influence on politicians.


Perhaps the new wave of the pandemic in the fall will again cause closures, because the number of infected people has increased by about 300 000 on a daily basis compared to last year. The good news is that the number of dead has decreased significantly compared to the same period last year. Empty roads would certainly affect the price of fuel, but on the other hand, all those people at their homes would use more gas or electricity than they normally do.

The big problem is that the oil corporations might simply increase the prices even more, which defeats the purpose of such "special taxes".
There are only two ways to lower the fuel prices- increase the supply and decrease the demand.
The first way depends on the OPEC countries in the Persian gulf(and maybe Russia). They have no incentive to increase the oil production and lower the prices.
The second way depends on the global economy. If a massive global recession is coming, the global demand for oil and gas will decrease, which will eventually lead to lowering the oil and gas prices.
Imposing "special taxes" won't solve the problem, but the politicians around the world like this "tax the rich" approach, when the crisis strikes.

The question here is,

Would it really help?

Imposing taxes on these firms doesn't mean they still won't have to take it off the masses. I don't think they wnt go about paying whatever taxes that is imposed on them but the issue here is, it would lead to an increase in price for the various oil products they offer and in the end, the citizens would still be the once to suffer.
It doesn't make any much difference. I think nations that have got oil should look towards a more local production of these resources, get there refineries working and the livelihood of its citizens would be improved.

Actually, this is also true in other industries, not just the oil industry. I've been seeing local news headlines of how the businesses in the retail industry, banking industry, energy, and others are registering higher net profits every quarter and every year.

It makes me wonder; there's the pandemic, there's the invasion in Ukraine, there's the rising national debt, there's the rising unemployment rate, rising of the prices of goods and services, rising inflation rate, and so on and so forth and yet the business sector are making more and more money.

The ordinary people are tightening their belts, now more than ever, because everything comes with a higher price now. And yet businesses are unaffected, declaring double digit growth in profit. Why? Because all else are passed on to the consumers. Business people don't compromise their profit.

source

Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine oil price skyrocketed triggering inflation and high cost of goods and services. But this unfortunate condition is favoring the oil and gas companies. While households are grappling with higher energy bills, companies are reaping the benefits.This quarter four of the biggest energy firms - Exxon, Chevron, Shell and TotalEnergies - earned nearly $51bn almost doubling what they earned last year.

Recently, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on nations to impose special taxes on oil and gas companies because of this excessive profits and use the funds to support the poorest and most vulnerable people  through these difficult times.

The British and Italian government have imposed these special taxes but the US and French government is rejection this move stating that it might still lead to increase in domestic energy cost and might scare investors away from the industry.


https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62415904