Chancellor to look at tax boost for emerging shale gas industry

THE TREASURY is to consult on a “generous new tax regime” to boost the country’s shale gas industry, George Osborne declared yesterday.

The Chancellor said he would review current arrangements that place the emerging energy industry in the same high tax category as North Sea Oil.

“We’re consulting on a generous new tax regime for shale gas, so Britain is not left behind as gas prices tumble on the other side of the Atlantic,” he said.

The move could open up vast reserves of the gas, which is trapped under the ground, with huge deposits already identified in north-west England.

But the move sets the government on a collision course with environmental campaigners, who greeted the news with dismay.

“The Chancellor clearly isn’t listening to the increasingly vociferous warnings from leading politicians, businesses and climate experts about his reckless dash for gas,” said Craig Bennett, Friends of the Earth policy and campaigns director.

Mr Osborne’s call comes with the United States having exloited a shale gas boom to reduce its reliance on oveseas oil and send worldwide gas prices plunging.