The government's proposal, which has already been submitted to the Chamber of Deputies as Parliamentary Document No. 311, envisages the introduction of a temporary extraordinary sector tax for economically important companies and groups operating in the oil processing and production of refined petroleum products sector. The measure responds to the extraordinary development of world markets in 2026, when disruptions in crude oil supplies and slower renewal of refining capacities led to a significant increase in the difference between the price of oil and the prices of finished products produced from crude oil, i.e. refining margins.
According to the government, part of the increased profitability was not due to innovation or higher efficiency of enterprises, but due to exceptional geopolitical and market conditions. The Czech Republic has thus proceeded to impose a new form of the so-called “windfall tax”, which it plans to introduce under the name of an extraordinary sector tax.
The tax is intended to cover only the increase in gross margin compared to 2025, which serves as the starting comparison period. To put it simply, the gross margin is calculated as the difference between the sales of petroleum processing products and the cost of crude oil consumed. If this margin is higher in 2026 or 2027 than in 2025, the positive difference will be subject to a rate of 50%. At the same time, the proposal works with turnover limits so that the measure focuses on large companies and groups for which increased margins can be associated primarily with market developments, rather than with the specific situation of a smaller company.
The explanatory memorandum estimates the budget benefit for 2026 at approximately CZK 5.5 billion. The projected revenue for 2027 cannot yet be reliably determined and is to be updated according to further developments in the sector. In addition, the overall benefit for public finances will be partially reduced by the fact that the sector tax paid will be a tax-deductible expense for companies for ordinary corporate income tax.
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