Tax loopholes for oil and gas companies need to be closed - The Yorkshire Post says

This isn’t the consequence of pioneering business acumen. Rather it is simply a by-product of the bleak situation faced by many ordinary people.

Never has there been a greater chasm between the day-to-day lives of people struggling on the breadline and the oil giants raking in eye-watering profits.

While the Government maintains that loopholes allowing companies to write down tax on the profits they make in the North Sea are needed to encourage investment, the fact that the burden is being shouldered by ordinary taxpayers raises questions over this approach.

Now is not the time to be cutting slack to those who make huge profits off the backs of people.

The argument that tightening taxes, closing loopholes and indeed increasing windfall taxes would see them pare back on investment does not hold weight when so many people are facing more and more financial hardship as a result of rising energy costs.

Legislation needs to be on the side of the people and not oil giants, now more than ever.

While the country managed to get through the previous winter, the Government cannot afford to let its guard down. In just a few months down the line many families will once again be crippled by anxiety as they wonder how they can keep warm during the winter months.