Biden’s threatened windfall oil tax unlikely to pass U.S. Congress

President Joe Biden’s threat to impose a windfall profits tax on oil companies is unlikely to pass in the U.S. Congress, even if Democrats defy forecasts and manage to maintain their razor-thin majority in midterm elections on Nov. 8.

Congress passed big, retroactive tax breaks for Big Oil when former President Donald Trump was in office, as fuel demand dropped during COVID lockdowns.

After oil prices soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European governments already have imposed windfall taxes on their oil industries.