The chancellor will also use Thursday’s autumn statement to lift the existing profit tax on oil and gas companies, known as the “energy profits levy”, from 25 per cent to 35 per cent — while extending it for another two years until 2028. The government was considering a “revenue cap” on power generators, following a similar move by the European Union. But Hunt is now preparing a 40 percent tax on the “excess returns” the industry produces above a certain price per megawatt hour, according to people close to the discussions. This limit has not yet been decided. The combination of the two tax windfalls is expected to raise more than £45 billion over six years, although the final amount will depend on energy prices. This is far more than the Treasury’s previous forecast of £28bn over four years for the Energy Profits Levy. The Treasury declined to comment. Recommended Hunt will also draw up new plans to extend the energy support program beyond March, albeit at a less generous level, to protect families and businesses from the recent rise in energy bills. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss initially announced a £150 billion support program that would cap the price of domestic energy for households for two years. But Hunt, in one of his first decisions as chancellor in October, has since cut that support in just six months to the current cap of £2,500 for the average household. The chancellor will confirm that for most households the new limit from April will be closer to £3,000 and that the previous £400 one-off payment will not be repeated. This means energy bills will rise by £900 next year for the average family. But Hunt will also maintain protections for millions of vulnerable low-income households and retirees, according to government officials. The new cap of around £3,000 will be around three times the average bill of £1,042 in 2020. Hunt will point out that without government intervention bills would have risen to around £4,000 a year, people familiar with his plans said. And Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, has given his strongest hint yet that the state pension will rise by 10.1 per cent next April, according to September price data. Asked at a briefing with reporters en route to the G20 summit in Indonesia whether he would maintain the so-called triple lock on pensions, Sunak said: “My record as chancellor shows that I care a lot about pensioners.” He added: “The state pension today is around £700 higher than it would have been otherwise as a result of the triple lock.” The triple lock guarantees that the state pension will increase by whichever is higher: inflation, pay rises or 2.5 per cent. “We will put justice and compassion at the heart of all the decisions we make and I’m sure people will see that on Thursday,” the prime minister said. Hunt is also expected to announce on Thursday that benefits will rise in line with inflation and also confirm a significant rise in the National Living Wage, currently £9.50 for employees aged over 23, to come into effect on next April.
