If an oil company such as BP had to incur a large windfall tax on high profits what would they do?

I mean, what actions would they take if this was the case?





thanksIf an oil company such as BP had to incur a large windfall tax on high profits what would they do?
They have had to in the past - they paid it.If an oil company such as BP had to incur a large windfall tax on high profits what would they do?
Firstly it's not unrealistic to expect a company like BP to make A LOT of money as it is one of the biggest companies in the world in terms of assets. If you had $200bn in the bank you would expect a decent amount of interest on it even at today's rates.





In the case of BP as most of their operations are based outside the UK they would probably move their head office and domicile to a more tax friendly regimes, taking a decent amount of jobs with them.





If the law said they had to pay they would have to pay though, but it's probably got more long-term negatives than positives.





Utilities companies have no alternative but to pay the tax because their operations are tied to the UK and the location of their networks.
This is actually what is currently happening, the government raises tax in lots of different ways with the oil companies.


First there is the usual PAYE tax on the salaries paid to the staff.


Second they tax any new exploration work carried out at 47%.


Third they tax the crude oil when it lands in the UK.


Fourth they tax the equipment and process involved processing the oil.


Last but not least they tax the fuel at point of sale.


Lots of tax.


Ja.
They would pay it.


Many of the utility companies had to pay windfall taxes when the Labour government first came into power in 1997.