Italy eyes almost 4 billion euro profit clawback from energy companies

Rome: Italy expects to raise 3.98 billion euros ($4.38 billion) from a clawback measure slapped on energy companies, a Treasury document showed on Tuesday.

The government on Friday approved a 4.4 billion euro package to help consumers and firms cope with surging energy costs exacerbated by the Ukraine crisis. read more

Rome is funding a large part of the scheme through a 10% one-off levy on producers and sellers of electricity, natural gas and petrol products.

It will apply to profit margins which rose by more than 5 million euros during the Oct. 2021 – March 2022 period compared to a year earlier, excluding cases where the profit margin rose by less than 10%.

Italy has set aside more than 20 billion euros since last July to try and soften the increase in electricity and gas bills for firms and households.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi is facing growing pressure from the ruling coalition to approve a further borrowing package.