Big “Un-American” Oil

Posted by Al Lewis on May 15, 2011
Washington

Big oil is bagging big profits while  Americans are lining up for $4 gasoline and Uncle Sam is looking for revenue to help curb a $1.5 trillion annual deficit spending habit.

Naturally, this brings up a discussion of whether all the tax breaks big oil companies get are necessary.

Having run through the list of deductions some folks in Washington want to take away from big oil, I would argue that  some are overreaching. It’s only fair that a business should be able to write off its expenses as tax deductions. But other breaks the oil companies get beg for reconsideration.

For instance, when oil companies pay royalties to a foreign nation, they often classify those royalties like tax payments and seek tax credits. Royalties are not taxes. They’re payments to owners of mineral rights.

In any case, oil company executives brought before the Senate Finance Committee last week wouldn’t give an inch on anything.  One of them even put out a press release calling pending tax proposals for Big Oil “Un-American.”

Click here to read my column in The Sunday Wall Street Journal.

3 Comments to Big “Un-American” Oil

Tom Atkins
May 15, 2011

And what do you think these subsidies are spent on? Exploring for oil? More likely it’s on stock buybacks. Much of which goes right into options for the corporate execs. So a lot of taxpayer money is going straight into the pockets of oil company execs. How American can you get?

Tony Uva
May 15, 2011

Dear Al,

Just read you’re Al’s Emp., May 15th. If I were Mr. Mulva, here are the things I would have said:
1. Mr. Schumer, remember it is not your money, it’s our money. If you eliminate our tax breaks, translation- increase your extortion rate, you will just piss it away and the country will be in the same boat again next year.
2. If we had legislative term limits, 2 terms Senate, 6 terms House, I wouldn’t be looking at your “mug” and I would have at least a chance of testifying before a senator who may have had a course or two in economics during his formal education.
3. Why don’t you get the cash from Senator Rockefeller? It’s oil money that he did not earn. At least we earned ours.
4. Un-American? How about getting a few bucks from GE.
5. If I ran my oil company like you run the government, we would all be riding around in rickshaws.
6. Actually, I did intend it personally-you’re a “shmuck.”
7. Where were you when the oil companies had to merge because we weren’t making buttkis?
8. Why don’t we all operate under Mr. Menendez’s NJ financial model? I believe they were almost broke.
9. 2 billion if you eliminate our tax deductions? Isn’t the government borrowing 6 billion today alone? How about I lend it to you? At say 12%.
10. Hold on, we just heard from S& P. Make it 14%.
11. Finally, in response to-“do you think everyone who is advocating cutting these “subsidies” is un-American too?” Yes, and I have a large contribution for you for your next re-election campaign Mr. Schumer. Schumer-alright, see me later we’ll work out a GE type of tax plan for you. Why don’t we all go to lunch at the Petroleum Club? I think Jay owns part of it.
Tony Uva

Leo Hansen
May 15, 2011

Just a fact about taxes and gasoline: The nationwide average Fed, State and local sales tax is 45.1 cents per gallon. Some states are more, like Calif 67.4 cents per gallon.

About 9 million barrels per day of gasoline is sold in the US. That 378 million gallos per day.

Govt taxes on gasoline are then 62 billion $ per year….not counting the income taxes that oil companies and service stations pay.

An big britches Senators lecture oil companies on obscene profits, when the Govt take is huge and they haven’t done a damn thing to produce crude, transport it, refine it and market it.

These big britches senators are just leeches sucking on America’s blood….and you all pay that 62 billion dollars.