UK's government is considering a plan to extend windfall taxes on oil and gas companies' profits, a government source said on Thursday, confirming a report in The Times which said the rate could be increased from 25% to 30% until 2028.
The source confirmed that the idea was being considered as a way to raise around 40 billion pounds over five years which would help repair the public finances.
The Times said the scheme could be expanded to cover electricity generators.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in power for just over a week, and his finance minister Jeremy Hunt are trying to find ways to cut spending and increase revenue to plug a budget hole worsened by his predecessor Liz Truss's debt-fuelled economic plans. Hunt is due to announced his budget plan on Nov. 17.
(Reuters - Reporting by Elizabeth Piper/Editing by William Schomberg)