An increase in taxes on natural gas looks likely across the European Union, as its executive plans a cash-grab to help achieve its climate goals.
If enacted, a draft law—since made public through a leak—would tax natural gas more heavily. According to the industry portal which published the leak, Table.Briefings, the European Commission intends to require member states to stop taxing natural gas more favourably than electricity.
In March, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated
In many cases, electricity is taxed significantly more heavily—sometimes up to fifteen times more—than gas.
It appears the EU will respond by bringing up taxation on natural gas into line with taxes on electricity, rather than cut costs and reduce pressure on the cost of living. To illustrate the scale of the problem, by October 2025, around one-third of the gas price for German households now consisted of government-imposed price components.
Such a measure would complement Denmark’s planned tax on cattle farming methane emissions, which could become a blueprint for the rest of the EU.
