Sunak: If you’re rich like me, give windfall tax of £400 to charity
Rishi Sunak has said people should follow his lead and give the government’s £400 energy bill assistance to charity.
The chancellor of the exchequer made his comments this morning after it was announced everyone will get a grant as part of a £21bn living support package.
This comes after pressure on the government to impose a £5bn windfall tax on energy firms to ease the cost of living crisis, after they made bumper profits in part due to the war in Ukraine.
“When you’re trying to help people on that scale when you’re trying to get help to tens of millions of people, you have a choice. How can you deliver that? The reality is, when you’re talking about that number of people, there aren’t many ways to do it. We wanted to make sure this was as universal as possible”.
Speaking on Sky News this morning, Sunak said he had considered an alternative way of giving people the grant, including a targeted council tax rebate.
But this, he said, would mean people in areas with high-value properties would miss out, even if they need support.
“So actually this being universal means that we avoid all of those problems and really do get help to everyone who needs it and you, like me, I am sure like me, you can also give that money to charity if you don’t need it.”
He also reflected on electricity companies not being included in the windfall tax, saying he is aware “extraordinary profits been made in that sector as a result of elevated gas prices due to the war in Ukraine”.
The government was trying to “understand the scale of the scale those profits and then decide on the appropriate next step”.