Posted on 05/30/2013 7:58:23 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
This isn’t breaking news or anything, but it never ceases to amaze how swiftly politicians will throw much-maligned, greeedy big-oil companies and market speculators under the bus whenever gas prices begin a precipitous rise. Although the Obama administration is momentarily occupied with their headlining policy agenda (immigration, his umpteenth “pivot” to jobs and the economy, the healthcare rollout), there were several pointed provisions about energy in Obama’s budget proposal, and I have no doubt we’ll hear about the many supposed sins of oil companies and the need to forcibly wean ourselves off of fossil fuels with renewed vigor before long, nevermind that major energy companies are already such wildly generous contributors to the federal revenue that the Democrats need for their big-government agenda. Via the DC:
The three largest oil companies paid the most in taxes in absolute terms of all major corporations, according to data on S&P 500 companies compiled by The New York Times.
President Barack Obama has chastised oil companies for receiving billions of dollars in tax breaks. However, the Times reports that ExxonMobil paid $146 billion in taxes; Chevron paid $85 billion; and ConocoPhillips paid $58 billion over the last five years.
In terms of their effective tax rates, the big three oil companies don’t get off easily either. Exxon had an effective tax rate of 37 percent, Chevron’s effective tax rate was 39 percent, and ConocoPhillips’s was a whopping 74 percent. The U.S. corporate tax rate is 35 percent. …
“As we continue to pursue clean energy technologies that will support future economic growth, we should not devote scarce resources to subsidizing the use of fossil fuels produced by some of the largest, most profitable companies in the world,” read the president’s 2014 budget proposal. “That is why the Budget proposes to eliminate unnecessary fossil fuel subsidies that impede investment in clean energy sources and undermine efforts to address the threat of climate change.”
As John Stossel points out in his column today, every time President Obama intones that we need to cut the tax breaks for big oil or that major energy companies need to “pay a little more” in taxes, that’s merely a roundabout way of saying he thinks we need to raise taxes on these companies, which in turn is really just a tax hike on you, the consumer. When you’re filling up your tank this summer, don’t forget where a heady portion of the price you pay at the pump is actually headed, and exactly what the administrations many oh-so-magnanimous efforts to ostensibly mitigate the effects on our wallets are getting us:
Another myth: Big Oil makes “excess” profit. Nonsense. The oil business is fiercely competitive. If one company charges a penny too much, other companies steal its business. Apple’s profit margin is about 24 percent. McDonald’s makes 20 percent. Oil companies make half that.
Per gallon, ExxonMobil makes about 7 cents. Governments, by contrast, grab about 27 cents per gallon. That’s the average gas tax. If anyone takes too much, it’s government.
President Obama says, “Gas costs too much.” So he announced: “We’ve put in place the toughest fuel economy standards in history. Over the life of a new car, the average family will save more than $8,000 at the pump.” …
Fuel economy sounds appealing when it’s presented as something created at no cost. But car dealers say it will make cars cost $3,000 more.
The oil and natural gas industry supports America like no other industry. We spur economic growth through hundreds of billions of dollars in investments each year, creating jobs across a wide range of sectors and generating millions of dollars in government revenue.
We pay our fair share – and then some. From 2006 to 2011, the oil and natural gas industry paid an effective tax rate of 44.3 percent, higher than any other industry.
http://api.org/~/media/Files/Policy/Taxes/Oil-Gas-Industry-Pays-Its-Fair-Share-Taxes.pdf
How about they look into how much profit an extreme Leftist company like Starbucks makes.....I wonder what kind of taxes they pay on a $5 cup of coffee that costs 50 cents to make.
Yeah, and more likely than not the most expensive component of that cup of Starbucks coffee is the cup itself.
Then thee are the employment agencies known as unions. What taxes do unions pay?
I have a plan to keep working people from seeing any taxes:
Let’s tax the oil companies at 99% of their profits - imagine all the cash the Feds will rake in!
Of course the oil companies will raise their prices to cover the higher taxes with a reasonable return on investment plus a bonus for the added risk and uncertainty - imagine all the cash they’ll rake in!
The trucking companies that deliver our food and other consumer goods will have to raise their prices to cover the higher fuel costs plus a bonus for the added risk and uncertainty - imagine all the cash they’ll rake in!
The local gas stations that provide our gasoline will have to raise their prices to cover the higher cost of gasoline plus a bonus for the added risk and uncertainty - imagine all the cash they’ll rake in!
Everyone wins, plus with the extra government money flowing in, we can provide a lot more free government services for the low-information voters. They get more goodies and no one ever has to pay for them - imagine all the loot they’ll rake in!
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