Since the outbreak of the Iran war, oil prices have surged — and with them, the profits of major oil companies. Now, a growing number of U.S. lawmakers are calling for those excess earnings to be taxed.
The push centers on what critics are calling windfall profits — the billions of dollars oil companies have collected as a result of rising prices, not because of any change in how oil is produced or what it costs to produce it.
Supporters of a windfall profits tax argue that the money collected should be returned to lower-income Americans who are feeling the pinch of higher energy costs.
The debate is gaining momentum in Washington as oil companies continue to report strong financial results tied to elevated global oil prices driven by the ongoing conflict.
