Ithaca Energy have announced their investment in its North Sea oil and gas portfolio “has and will reduce” as a direct result of the government’s windfall tax, which now whacks energy firms with a raid of up to 75% of their profits. And would go even further under a Labour government…

The company say the fiscal uncertainty and punitive tax policies are forcing it to reduce production for next year. CEO Gilad Myerson said today:

“We continue to constructively engage with the UK government to highlight the impact of the current fiscal regime to the industry’s outlook and to the UK government’s stated energy security and net zero ambitions.”

Shell have already admitted the tax may cause them to withdraw their £25 billion investment in UK energy for the same reason. The government can’t tax its way to energy independence or cheaper bills. Who knew?