Jeremy Hunt admits North Sea oil industry is Budget 'loser' in fresh blow to Douglas Ross

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Jeremy Hunt has dealt a fresh blow to Douglas Ross after the Chancellor admitted the North Sea oil and gas industry was one of the "losers" in the Budget.An extension of the windfall tax on energy giants' profits was confirmed yesterday despite pleas from the Scottish Conservatives to scrap it.Hunt announced in 2022 that the windfall tax rate would be raised to 75 per cent and extended for two years to March 2028.

He then extended in 2029 in Wednesday's Budget.The move was humiliating for the Scottish Tories after Ross had said any extension would be an “unacceptable blow”.He was then dealt another knock to his credibility after Hunt boasted that North Sea oil and gas was a "loser" from the Budget when speaking to BBC Radio 4 today.He said: "In terms of the tax system, the people I've chosen are people in work. "Who are the losers?

Foreigners who are resident in the UK who were able to pay a cheque and avoid paying tax at the same rate as everyone else, the so-called non-doms, they are going to be paying significantly more tax."I've also asked the Scottish oil and gas industry to pay an additional contribution because the war in Ukraine is lasting longer, oil and gas prices are going to stay higher for longer.

I think they can make an additional contribution to the cost-of-living."Ross has campaigned hard for the tax to be put into reverse and used it as a political dividing line with Labour and the SNP in the North East.The Scottish Tory leader, who is an MP as well as an MSP, said he would not vote for the measure.UK nuclear minister and Scottish Tory MP Andrew Bowie also called the move "disappointing" but did not resign from his government job.Hunt said the move will raise £1.5 billion and had helped allow him to cut