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Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Britons Favour Windfall Tax for Oil Companies
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - A large majority of people in Britain are in favour of introducing a new tax on the revenues of oil and energy companies, according to a poll by YouGov. 68 per cent of respondents agree with the proposal.
In addition, 67 per cent of respondents think the money raised from the one-off tax should be used to help families to pay for fuel in the winter, and 60 per cent would kick-start a national program of home insulation for energy efficiency.
In June 2007, Gordon Brown officially became Labour leader and prime minister, replacing Tony Blair. Brown had worked as chancellor of the exchequer. Blair served as Britain’s prime minister since May 1997, winning majority mandates in the 1997, 2001 and 2005 elections to the House of Commons.
Brown is currently under pressure by dozens of Labour members of Parliament to introduce a windfall tax on oil companies to ease fuel prices for consumers. The prime minister has rejected the idea so far, while 70 lawmakers from his party have signed a petition for him to consider the levy.
David Kidney, parliamentary private secretary to British transport minister Rosie Winterton, recently urged the government to prioritize tackling fuel poverty. Kidney referred to the windfall tax and said that struggling families should be at the centre of the upcoming budget, declaring, "It may mean more public spending, but it doesn’t necessarily mean a windfall tax—there are other ways of being able to provide the money for this energy action."
Polling Data
The Government has been called on to introduce a one-off tax on the windfall profits of the energy and oil companies, with the money invested to help households deal with increased pressures on family budgets. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
("Agree" listed)
|
The government should raise a one-off tax on energy and oil companies’ recent windfall profits |
68% |
|
The money raised from a one-off windfall tax should be put towards immediately helping households with their bills this winter using measures such as winter fuel payments |
67% |
|
The money raised from a one-off windfall tax should be put towards kick-starting a national programme of home insulation for energy efficiency to help people for the longer-term |
60% |
Source: YouGov
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,745 British voters, conducted on Aug. 14 and Aug. 15, 2008. No margin of error was provided.
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