Portugal’s Finance Minister Ignores Calls for Windfall Tax (1)

Portuguese Finance Minister Fernando Medina ignored fresh calls for a one-time tax on energy companies’ profits, an approach that contrasts starkly with other European countries and the European Union itself.

For Medina, Portugal’s decision earlier this year to cap the price of natural gas used to generate electricity is already helping households deal with soaring energy costs in his country. He didn’t rule out other measures to reduce living costs.

“What you are saying is that we should go further” in terms of taxing energy companies, Medina told a parliamentary hearing in Lisbon in response to a question by Left ...