Cost of living crisis: Rishi Sunak announces windfall tax on energy firms and £400 bill rebate
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a £15 billion emergency package of support to help tackle the cost of living crisis, including a £400 discount off energy bills
Millions of households will receive a £400 discount off their energy bills as the Chancellor unveiled a £15 billion support package to help mitigate the cost of living crisis.
Rishi Sunak said eight million low income households will benefit from the payment, which will be paid in two lump sums - one from July and the other from autumn.
He said it will give vulnerable people "certainty that we are standing by them at this challenging time", but added that the government would also provide “universal” support.
The Chancellor confirmed that the £200 energy bill rebate will no longer need to be repaid and the payment, which he says is "now unambiguously a grant", will also be doubled to £400.
He told MPs: “I’ve heard people’s concerns over the impact of these repayments on future bills, so I’ve decided that those repayments will be cancelled.
“This support is now unambiguously a grant,”, he said, adding “the £200 of support for household energy bills will be doubled to £400 for everyone”.
As well as the universal payment there was targeted support for the poorest, the elderly and the disabled.
Mr Sunak also confirmed a temporary windfall tax on oil and gas companies that will raise “around £5 billion of revenue over the next year”.
He said: “The new levy will be charged on profits of oil and gas companies at a rate of 25%.
“It will be temporary and when oil and gas prices return to historically more normal levels the levy will be phased out.”
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