Germany is considering the introduction of a windfall tax on hefty energy-sector profits after oil prices surged due to the Middle East war, a finance ministry source told AFP on Thursday. Oil prices made another big jump Thursday after Qatar reported major damage to a vast liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility following Iranian strikes. German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil is mulling the introduction of a special tax "to skim off excessive crisis profits", the ministry source said. The extra cash brought in would be used to "finance targeted and rapid relief", potentially through offering more tax breaks on the costs of commuting. Under that system, the government imposed a 33 percent tax on prices that were 20 percent higher than the average in the previous two years.

Source: The Local March 19, 2026 15:37 UTC