Posted on 09/23/2009 10:49:02 AM PDT by larry hagedon
This came over the AP, and was picked up by a New Zealand site. I have not yet located other sources.
Obama wants to end all Federal subsidies for petroleum. Most people do not realize that Petroleum has been massively subsidized for the past 50 years.
This will not affect state, county, city or township gasoline, heating oil and diesel fuel subsidies.
Will they simultaneously cut the massive extraordinary taxes on oil? (See Gas Tax)
Don’t be silly.
Agreed
What subsidies are you talking about? There has been a depletion allowance for oil producers, which if I recall correctly, exempts about 15% of their oil production from federal taxes. The depletion allowance is an unjustifiable tax break for oil that gives it a cost advantage over other energy sources and it wouldn’t bother me if congress ended the depletion allowance. But other than that, I can’t think of any “massive subisdies” for oil. So what else are you talking about?
All subsidies should end...Obozo is right with this one....
Soilent Green
Slave labor.
Wood burners???
Caves.
BTW, how’s everyone at DNC headquarters today? Just wondering....I’m hoping you’re all OK and feeling lucid today.
To what, and what amount have the alleged Subsidies been? Anyone??
Cut Sugar subisdies too!
The administration wants to end the current year expensing of "intangible drilling costs" and instead depreciate those costs over a number of years, which means the tax write-off occurs later and is thus less valuable to oil producers. The current year write-off of IDC's is not really a subsidy because it's always a judgment call in accounting whether an expense related to capital goods should be expensed or depreciated. You can go either way on those costs and it's incorrect to call current-year write-offs a subsidy. Drug companies get to write off all their R&D expenses in the current year, so why shouldn't oil drillers write off drilling site preparation costs (an IDC) in the current year?
Personal Methane Reclamation.
....................... The depletion allowance is an unjustifiable tax break for oil that gives it a cost advantage over other energy sources..................
The depletion allowance allows the companies to write off, tax free, the huge lease cost that the oil companies had to pay the US government for the company to explore for oil.
In many cases the depletion allowance benefit is applicable decades after the oil company paid - cash - for the ability to look for oil.
Please do not fall for this nonsense. The oil and natural gas industries are one of the most heavily regulated and taxed industries. These industries are not subsidized. They pay massive taxes at every stage of production and are subject to almost endless regulation and litigation. Sure, one can point to a few tax breaks but these breaks are more than offset by taxes and regulations.
Lefties insist that the gulf wars were a subsidy to oil. This absurd statement does not warrant rebuttal.
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