Oil giants benefit from uniquely generous UK taxpayer support, despite bumper profits, says Labour

A Shell report reveals that they paid no tax on their UK oil & gas production in 2021, instead receiving £100 million from the UK taxpayer. This is despite paying £17 billion of tax in other jurisdictions including Norway, Qatar and the USA.

Labour research reveals that Shell and BP have taken £700m of government handouts for oil and gas production since 2016, as new poorly designed tax breaks hand back billions more.

These findings follow Conservative leadership candidate Liz Truss declaring that there will be “no handouts” for millions of households struggling through a rapidly intensifying cost of living crisis.

Millions of pounds of payments from the UK government have been pumped into oil and gas producers over the past six years displaying the absurdity of the government failing to backdate their windfall tax and leaving months of windfall profits untaxed. 

The CEO of BP also described current high prices as a “cash machine” for the producer, while its CFO said they may have “more money than they know what to do with” if prices stayed high.

Kerry McCarthy MP, Labour's Shadow Minister for Climate Change, said:

“Since 2016 oil and gas giants have been paid huge amounts from the public purse under the uniquely generous tax regime the Tories have created for them. 

“Even now, when oil and gas profits are soaring to record levels and people are struggling to pay their energy bills, the Tories have given them yet another tax break. It is time that they pay their fair share.”

Ends 

Notes to editors:

Shell payments to government report 2021, shows Shell received $121m from the UK government for oil & gas production, more than from any other government.

https://www.shell.com/sustainability/transparency-and-sustainability-reporting/payments-to-governments.html 

From other BP and Shell payments to government reports: