Eni shares fall for fifth day amid Italy windfall tax debate

MILAN, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Shares in Italian oil and gas group Eni were down for a fifth consecutive day on Thursday amid speculation that the government could impose a windfall tax on energy companies to help finance fuel-price cuts in response to the U.S.-Iran war.

• The stock was down 0.7% at 1000 GMT in Milan morning trading, bringing losses since the Aug. 20 closure to more than 6%.

• Eni's shares were underperforming a 0.4% loss recorded by the Milan blue-chip index, while the STOXX Europe 600 index for oil and gas group was slightly positive.

• Other Italian energy groups were also falling on Thursday, with gas distributor Italgas shedding 1.4% and the country's biggest utility Enel losing 0.8%.

• Italy's ruling coalition is split on whether to impose a windfall tax on energy companies, with the far-right League supporting the proposal and the more moderate Forza Italia seen as opposing it.

• Italy and five other European Union countries this week called for the 27-nation bloc discuss in September a mechanism to tax profits booked by energy companies amid the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.

• Italy's cabinet on Wednesday extended until the beginning of September a cut in excise duties on diesel, with the funding partly coming from advance payments of taxes due from large energy companies.

• When these cuts expire, the government may introduce more targeted measures to ease fuel costs only for lower-income households, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office said earlier this week.

(Reporting by Francesca Landini, editing by Gavin Jones)