OPINION - Talking Point: What do you think of Rishi’s windfall tax?

Chancellor Rishi Sunak today announced a windfall tax on energy companies in a government U-turn.

The £5billion tax on energy firms will go towards a £15billion emergency aid package for households seeing their bills soaring.

Every household will be given a £400 grant in October – twice the amount previously planned, and no longer as a loan to be paid back. Eight million of the most vulnerable households will receive at least £1,200 of extra support in total this year, according to the government.

This will help to offset households’ energy bills seeing an £800 annual rise in October, as recently announced by regulator Ofgem.

The government has resisted calls for a windfall tax until this point, and some allude to a cynical delay in taking action.

“It just happens to have happened the same week as the Sue Gray report, it just happens that that report came out yesterday and the chancellor has suddenly realised today that people are struggling,” Kirsty Blackman, SNP Spokesperson for Work and Pensions said.

Households will undoubtedly find any support welcome, but may have doubts whether it has come soon enough and gone far enough – and what the longer term plan is for the economy.

What do you think of Rishi’s windfall tax? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below for the chance to be featured on the ES website tomorrow.