Orlen Unipetrol Criticizes the New Tax on Refineries
3 Articles
3 Articles
The extraordinary tax on increased refinery margins, approved by the government last week due to high fuel prices, threatens further investments in the development of Czech refineries and the stability of the fuel market, according to Orlen Unipetrol. The company also says the proposal raises constitutional doubts, as the tax has a retroactive effect and targets only it, i.e. a single domestic company.
Petrochemical group Orlen Unipetrol has railed against Finance Minister Alena Schiller's plan to impose an extraordinary tax of 50 percent on the increase in gross refining margin. It is expected to raise about 5.5 billion crowns this year alone. Although the formulation of the tax is general, due to the ownership of its only Czech refineries, it will ultimately fall only on Orlen Unipetrol.
The sectoral tax on refining margins is beneficial for the government of Andrej Babiš in the short term. Experts in the petrochemical business fear that it will push Orlen Unipetrol to reduce investments and harm the industry in the long term.
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