(WO) – Three of the United Kingdom’s most influential business organizations have jointly called on the government to abolish the Energy Profits Levy (EPL), warning that the windfall tax is accelerating job losses and undermining investment in the North Sea oil and gas sector.
The British Chambers of Commerce, Scottish Chambers of Commerce, and Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) have written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, urging her to replace the EPL with a “stable, proportionate and predictable” fiscal regime. The groups said the levy has become “the single greatest barrier to investment and growth in the North Sea,” deterring capital and stifling confidence in one of the UK’s most productive industrial regions.
A recent AGCC report found that one in four companies in northeast Scotland reduced headcount in the past three months, while industry group Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) has warned that as many as 1,000 jobs per month could be lost if the EPL remains in place until 2030.
In a joint statement, the organizations urged the Treasury to adopt recommendations from the North Sea Transition Taskforce, including replacing the EPL with a more competitive tax framework, providing regulatory clarity to support hydrocarbons and renewables development, and establishing a ministerially led North Sea Transition Committee.
“More than three years after it was introduced as a temporary measure, the Energy Profits Levy has become a self-defeating policy,” said Russell Borthwick, Chief Executive of the AGCC. “It is deterring investment, shrinking the tax base, and accelerating the decline of the North Sea. The result is fewer jobs, lower revenues, and greater reliance on imported energy with four times the carbon footprint of our own.”
The British Chambers of Commerce also released a video statement from Director General Shevaun Haviland, who emphasized that domestic oil and gas production remains vital to the UK’s energy transition and security. “By removing the Energy Profits Levy, we can meet more of our energy demand at home, keeping jobs and economic benefits in the UK,” she said.
The three business groups said they stand ready to work with the government to develop a fiscal and regulatory environment that supports investment, energy security, and the transition toward lower-carbon resources in the North Sea.
