Posted on 11/18/2005 4:30:24 AM PST by MNJohnnie
Republicans beat back Democratic attempts Thursday to use a $60 billion tax bill to pinch oil and energy companies that have been reporting record profits while consumers pay high gasoline prices.
The bill, which would prevent a number of individual and business tax breaks from expiring, already levies almost $5 billion in taxes on major oil companies.
The energy amendments faced opposition from the Republican majority and stood little chance of success, but they reflected attentiveness on Capitol Hill to high gasoline prices and fears of skyrocketing home heating costs this winter.
Some GOP senators were already unhappy with tax writers because the bill included a change in accounting methods that would hit large integrated oil companies with $4.9 billion in taxes. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, said he would vote against the bill if that tax increase remained intact.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
"High gas prices" is a relative term. $1.98 a gallon around here where I live is nothing in comparison to $6.75 in sweden and other countries.
"Big Oil" profit: $0.10 per gallon of gas.
State and Federal Government profit: $0.46 per gallon of gas.
Only a politician can rationalize that by increasing taxes on the producer of goods that it will somehow lower the price of said goods to consumers...
Or a clueless liberal...
The liberals still got a punch in. The mere mention of a "windfall tax" sent oil stocks to hell.
I'd like to know if the oil companies have a financial loss, do they get the money back?
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Senator, Congressman, why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
How in the world wilt thou say to anyone, Let me pull out the toothpix out of thine eye; and, behold, a telephone pole is in thine own eye? You hypocrites, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Paraphrased just enough so that idiots in Congress will get the point, really need to do it as a first grade coloring book for them to get it, but this paraphrase will have to suffice, since the sun is up and it is time for me to go work my butt off so that Olympia Snowe, Susie Collins, Johnnie Baldacci and thier ilk can continue to live off the fat of the taxslave.
Any tax will be passed on to the consumer at the pump. The oil industry will put all profits back into exploration and production projects which will increase supply and eventually reduce prices at the pump assuming demand remains level. The big winner is the government since it gets a hugh profit on each gallon of gas sold and takes no risk. When prices go down demand increases and the government receives higher tax revenues at the pump. On the other hand when prices of domestic production goes up royalty payments to the government increases on production from federal land. Therefore, when prices go up or down the government makes money.
Its amazing how democraps are taking the position that the oil companies are just greedy, so the gov will step in and and collect more and more and more on our behalf.
OF course - the term "record profits" can be rather misleading -
Are the profits a record because of the "profit margin" (as in the percentage of total sales that is considered profit), or is it just a total number?
The reason I ask is if the actual margin is no larger than it was a year, two years, a decade ago, just the total profit, then it is still normal.
[disclaimer - these are fictional numbers used for illustration purposes only]:
If the profit margin for the oil companies has remained at a relatively steady 10% for the past decade, yet their total sales have gone up, then their "profits" would also go up - Total sales doesn't mean that they are necessarily reaping an unfair profit gain.
A 10 % profit on $200 billion is a larger total profit than 10% profit on $100 billion. Worldwide consumers are using more oil and oil products - thus more barrels are being sold (and the cost of each barrel keeps going up as well because of demand - or so they tell us).
Another example - Lets say I have an IRA account. When I opened it, I put in $2000. Assuming the interest rate remains the same, I will actually "make" more interest in the second year than the first, because the total drawing interest is larger.
What it all boils down to - and the measure of if the oil profits are "fair" (I really am starting to hate that term) is - Are the profits growing consistently with total sales?
I think the REAL focus of any investigation of oil/gasoline prices belongs squarely on the speculators who have artificially driven up the price of crude oil -
Republicans beat back Democratic attempts Thursday to use a $60 billion tax bill to pinch oil and energy companies that have been reporting record profits while consumers pay high gasoline prices.
pinch: pilfer: make off with belongings of others.
Example from the article: Unlike a version passed by a House committee, the bill would not extend reduced tax rates for capital gains and dividends.
Obviously, in the eyes of bandits in the Senate, if you have money enough to invest, you have an excess of income.
Of course, if you had the savvy to invest in an energy company and have received any capital gains or dividends from the investment (perhaps as a means to defray your cost of energy product), you deserve a double pinch. One pinch to decrease the value of your investment and another pinch to steal your gains.
But, what the hell. It was 'unearned' (subliminal: you don't deserve it) income anyways. /s/s/s
You know liberals care nothing about results, they care only about their image as a kind, caring person fighting the good fight for the little guy against the evil dragon, Big Oil, supported by Bush/Cheney/Halliburton. They will take care of unintended consequences later by raising taxes to give to the slothful to pay for gasoline and heating oil.
All they have to get rid of is all of the special tax breaks and subsidies to oil companies (and competing interests, such as ethanol). I would be happy with that. There's no need to punish profits with a windfall tax.
Numbers only. I guess if we split each company into 10 companies and they each made twice as high percentage profit, it would not be news.
Company..............Profit..........Sales.........% Profit
Exxon Mobile.......$ 9.92 B....$ 100.7 B.....9.9%
Shell.......................$ 5.37 B....$ 76.44 B.....7.0%
BP..........................$ 6.53 B....$ 65.76 B......9.9%
Chevron.................$ 3.60 B....$ 54.46 B......6.6%
ConocoPhillips....$3.80 B.....$ 49.66 B......7.7%
Marathon..............$ 0.77 B....$ 17.25 B......4.5%
All are third quarter 2005 numbers.
This is from 1998:
http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/statistics/gas_taxes_by_state.html
It's probably higher now!
Well, here is 2002:
http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/statistics/gas_taxes_by_state_2002.html
I don't care what people pay in other countries! Their paying so much more is never justification (or even consolation) for rising fuel prices here!
These words are:
1. Redundant
2. Insufficiently descriptive, as in #$#$@#$@#$@ jerk.
I feel better now.
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