Since we have been discussing, in various threads here at TMV, the extension of unemployment benefits for about two million Americans who have been jobless for six months or longer (my ex-husband is one of these), and since we have, in addition, been discussing, in various threads here at TMV, the absolute outrageous lawlessness of asking British Petroleum to put $20 billion ($20 BILLION! Can you imagine that?) into an escrow account to pay for cleanup and restitution costs related to the Gulf Coast oil rig explosion disaster in April, I thought you all might find this article in today’s New York Times quite interesting.
When the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform set off the worst oil spill at sea in American history, it was flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. Registering there allowed the rig’s owner to significantly reduce its American taxes.
The owner, Transocean, moved its corporate headquarters from Houston to the Cayman Islands in 1999 and then to Switzerland in 2008, maneuvers that also helped it avoid taxes.
At the same time, BP was reaping sizable tax benefits from leasing the rig. According to a letter sent in June to the Senate Finance Committee, the company used a tax break for the oil industry to write off 70 percent of the rent for Deepwater Horizon — a deduction of more than $225,000 a day since the lease began.
With federal officials now considering a new tax on petroleum production to pay for the cleanup, the industry is fighting the measure, warning that it will lead to job losses and higher gasoline prices, as well as an increased dependence on foreign oil.
But an examination of the American tax code indicates that oil production is among the most heavily subsidized businesses, with tax breaks available at virtually every stage of the exploration and extraction process.
According to the most recent study by the Congressional Budget Office, released in 2005, capital investments like oil field leases and drilling equipment are taxed at an effective rate of 9 percent, significantly lower than the overall rate of 25 percent for businesses in general and lower than virtually any other industry.
And for many small and midsize oil companies, the tax on capital investments is so low that it is more than eliminated by var-ious credits. These companies’ returns on those investments are often higher after taxes than before.
“The flow of revenues to oil companies is like the gusher at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico: heavy and constant,” said Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, who has worked alongside the Obama administration on a bill that would cut $20 billion in oil industry tax breaks over the next decade. “There is no reason for these corporations to shortchange the American taxpayer.”
Oil industry officials say that the tax breaks, which average about $4 billion a year according to various government reports, are a bargain for taxpayers. By helping producers weather market fluctuations and invest in technology, tax incentives are supporting an industry that the officials say provides 9.2 million jobs.
As it happens, I already knew about all this, because Rachel Maddow had reported it on her MSNBC show weeks ago. Up until now, however, I hadn’t seen it reported anywhere else. Why is that? Why did Pres. Obama’s request that BP put that $20 billion into an escrow account, and BP’s agreement to do so, cause a media uproar that continued unabated for many days, while BP and the oil industry as a whole has been getting billions in taxpayer-funded subsidies for years without a peep of protest from anyone? And why are Republicans in Congress and conservatives in general nickel-and-diming millions of unemployed Americans for jobless benefits extensions that are miniscule next to the unearned and undeserved largesse lavished on the oil industry?
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