German finance ministry wants 33% windfall tax on energy firms - Die Welt

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's finance ministry aims to introduce a 33% tax on oil and gas companies that have benefited from windfall profits, Die Welt newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Citing a draft document, Die Welt said companies in the oil, gas, coal and refining sectors whose profits for this and next year are more than 20% higher than the average profits of 2018 to 2021 would have to pay the extra tax.

The plans are the implementation of a European Union-wide agreement on energy companies in response to high energy prices due to a collapse in supplies from Russia since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The government aims to use the revenues and the skimming off of excess profits in the electricity sector to cover the financing of an electricity price brake, said the paper.

The ministry has estimated additional revenues of about three billion euros, said the newspaper.

No one at the finance ministry was immediately available for comment.

(Writing by Madeline Chambers; editing by Barbara Lewis)