ROME, May 12 (Reuters) - Energy companies will have to pay by November a 25% one-off levy introduced by the Italian government to help consumers and business cope with surging energy costs, a draft decree seen by Reuters showed on Thursday.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi has budgeted almost 30 billion euros ($31.13 billion) since January to help offset electricity, gas and petrol prices, as the war in Ukraine overshadows the growth prospects of the euro zone’s third largest economy.
Around 11 billion euros will come from a tax on the increased profits of energy companies that have benefited from surging oil and gas prices, the government said.
Producers and sellers of electricity, natural gas and petrol products have to pay a 10% down payment by the end of June and the rest by November, the draft says.
The levy applies to profit margins that rose by more than 5 million euros between October last year and April this year compared to the same period a year earlier, with the exception of companies whose profit margin rose by less than 10%.
The decree also introduces measures designed to end Italy’s reliance on Russian gas by 2024, including accelerating the roll-out of renewable power sources.
$1 = 0.9636 euros Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; editing by Barbara Lewis
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