UN Chief wants to tax fossil fuel companies ‘feasting’ on profits The content originally appeared on: CNN London (CNN Business)Rich economies should hit oil and gas companies with new windfall taxes to provide help for countries suffering from climate change, and people struggling with soaring energy and food bills, UN Secretary General Ant?nio Guterres said Tuesday. The UN chief accused energy giants of “feasting on hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies and windfall profits while household budgets shrink and our planet burns.” Guterres’ comments, at the UN General Assembly in New York, come on the heels of a European Union proposal to introduce a windfall tax on oil, gas and coal companies, many of which have reported record-high profits as Russia’s war in Ukraine and an energy crunch send prices soaring. The European Commission is proposing that EU states take a 33% share of the companies’ surplus profits. The United Kingdom introduced a 25% windfall tax earlier this year to provide relief for people struggling with their energy bills but newly installed Prime Minister Liz Truss has said she won’t extend it to pay for a much bigger program of subsidies this winter and next .