Does gov. make more $ from gasoline than Big Oil?

FactCheck.org ^ | 05/23/08 | Lori Robertson

[coffee260]

Q:

Does the government really make more in taxes from the sale of a gallon of gasoline than the oil companies do?

A:

Possibly. Both taxes and profits account for a large share, but which is larger depends on too many unknown factors to allow for a clear answer. Let’s start with the basics. According to the Energy Information Administration, in February 2008 state and federal excise taxes accounted for 13 percent of the average price per gallon of regular gasoline sold in the U.S. That figures to just under 40 cents per gallon as a national average. However, the actual amount paid varies greatly by state. Federal taxes are a flat 18.4 cents per gallon of regular gasoline, no matter the price at the pump. State taxes range anywhere from 7.5 cents to 34 cents per gallon, according to the Federal Highway Administration. And on top of that, the oil industry points to additional taxes and fees, such as sales taxes and inspection and environmental fees, that drive up the state-local fees to as much as 45.5 cents per gallon (in California). And even these figures don’t account for income taxes that the companies pay on their profits. Those taxes would drive the tax total higher yet, but we know of no authoritative source that has attempted to break down how much income tax should be allocated to each gallon of gasoline. One big problem in trying to calculate such a per-gallon amount is that income can be earned on the sale of any number of products besides gasoline, such as diesel, home heating fuel, jet fuel, natural gas, crude oil and whatever else a company might sell. The same goes for profits. The EIA does not attempt to calculate an average figure for the profit earned on each gallon of gasoline. "It’s not that these guys [the oil companies] are obfuscating; it’s that the processes are intertwined," EIA economist Neal Davis told FactCheck.org. He added that trying to reduce profit figures to a per-gallon average for gasoline would be "heroic at best" and "sadly misinformed … at worst." Nevertheless, the oil industry has tried to do something close to that. A publication from the American Petroleum Institute, the industry’s principal lobbying arm, displays a graphic stating that "taxes" made up 15 percent of the price of gasoline at the pump in 2007 (that figure comes from EIA) and showing a figure for "earnings" (a measurement API prefers to straight "profit") of 8.3 percent. This figure is the average earnings for the industry per dollar of sales. On closer examination, however, that 8.3 percent earnings figure turns out to be after-tax income. The pre-tax profit margin would be considerably higher. And that’s only an average. The profits of any particular oil company could be higher or lower. For example, in 2007, ExxonMobil's after-tax earnings were 10.4 percent, much higher than the industry average. Furthermore, any particular gallon of gasoline might have passed through several companies as the product moved from the oil well to the refiner to the retailer that owns the pump. Another complicating factor is that the percentages change from month to month, sometimes dramatically. State and federal excise taxes are generally fixed at a certain number of pennies per gallon, so as the price of gasoline rises, the percentage paid in excise taxes goes down. As shown in this breakdown, state and federal excise taxes made up 32 percent of what motorists paid at the pump in January 2000, when the average price for regular was only $1.29. "Unfortunately, there’s no real simple answer," says Lucian Pugliaresi, president of the Energy Policy Research Foundation, which conducts economic analyses of energy issues and is supported by oil companies. It depends on when the gasoline was purchased. "If you bought it right now, I’d say the government is making more." If the gasoline was purchased a month ago or last year, that may not have been the case. And the answer further depends on what type of company the question refers to. Refineries, Pugliaresi says, are hurting right now. "If you’re an independent refinery, the answer is definitely they’re making a lot less than the government." So, to the question of whether motorists pay more per gallon to the government than to oil-company profits, we can say only this: The answer depends on the state in which the fuel is purchased, the company that produced it and sold it, and when the motorist bought it. -Lori Robertson

Sources

American Petroleum Institute. "The Truth About Oil and Gasoline: An API Primer," 31 March 2008.

U.S. Energy Information Administration. Gasoline Components History. What we pay for in a gallon of regular gasoline, accessed 8 April 2008.

U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. Tax Rates on Motor Fuel, 14 Feb. 2008.

U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. Tax Rates on Motor Fuel, 14 Feb. 2008.

[coffee260]

Can anyone make sense of this?

[mgc1122]

Yep. It translates as the gubbmit getting too much, doing too little and standing the hell in the way of increasing domestic supply.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Yes. Gas prices are astronomically high and headed higher.

[musicman]

"Can anyone make sense of this?"

I'll try....

[thackney]

ExxonMobil 2007
Revenue $404.6 Billion
Profit $40.6 Billion (10.0%)
Taxes $102.5 Billion (25.3%)

Sales-Based taxes $31.728B
Other taxes and duties $40.953B
Income taxes $29.864B

2007 Financial & Operating Review
http://www.exxonmobil.com/corporate/files/news_pub_fo_2007.pdf
Page 16

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ConocoPhillips 2007
Revenue $194.5 Billion
Profit $11.9 Billion (6.1%)
Taxes $30.4 Billion (15.6%)

Taxes other than income taxes $18.990B
Income taxes $11.891B

2007 Annual Report
http://www.conocophillips.com/NR/rdonlyres/3838234F-F20C-4BCE-AE8D-78DE29D67455/0/07RevisedARfinal.pdf
Page 60

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Chevron 2007
Revenue $220.9 Billion
Profit $18.7 Billion (8.5%)
Taxes $35.7 Billion (16.2%)

Taxes other than income taxes $22.266B
Income taxes $13.479B

2007 Annual Report Supplement
http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/13/130102/reports/CVX_ARsupp07.pdf
Page 3

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Marathon 2007

Revenue $62.8 Billion
Profit $4.0 Billion (6.3%)
Taxes $8.5 Billion (13.5%)

Consumer excise taxes $5.163B
Other taxes $0.394B
Income taxes $2.901B

2007 Annual Report
http://www.marathon.com/content/documents/investor_center/annual_reports/annual_report_2007_book.pdf
Page F-4

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And after those profits are paid to stock shareholders, income tax is collected on that amount again.

[coffee260]

Do you think we need to drill for more oil? And do you think the Oil companies make too much profit? If so, how much less should they make, if on average they only make 8 cents on a gallon of gas?

[Blood of Tyrants]

It is the same with “big tobacco companies”. They company may make 25 cents per pack while the government makes $1.50 to $2.50 a pack yet the government rails against them. Truth is the government WANTS people to smoke even more than the tobacco companies.

[goodwithagun]

Ironically, the attendance at overpriced live sporting events and concerts have not decreased. Maybe we should tax Madonna the same way the gubmint taxes big oil. Also, I have heard (haven’t researched it yet) that Disneyland makes more profits than big oil companies. You don’t see soccer moms screaming about government regulation of ticket prices.

[Always Right]

I am glad the government was not smart enough to enact a tax based on the price and not a fixed amount per gallon. Say if the government had imposed a 10% tax instead of a 18 cent per gallon tax, the government would be rolling in the dough.

[Wolfie]

There’s a ton of BS to wade through. So much is just repeated as FACT its hard to tell. I hear a right-winger say that doing away with Big Oil profts would only lower gas prices by 10 cents a gallon. Then I hear a left-winger say opening up all of the U.S. (and offshore) to drilling would only lower the price 10 cents a gallon. Everybody’s got an agenda, and who can tell anymore what the truth is?

[thackney]

People need to understand there is a LOT more taxes collected than just the excise tax added at the pump.

Taxes are applied at each step of the process, when the land is leased, the oil is pumped, when first separated, when transported, when refined, when brought to the service station and again at the pump.

[DeaconRed]

For those of you too young to remember the 70's here is a refresher course.
We were told we were running out of crude. We would be completely out in less than 10 years.
We waited in line for gasoline. We got into fist fights when some A$$ hole tried to get in the front of the line.
The stations were only allocated certain amounts per month. When their allocation was up they could not get any more gas until the next month.
Several times after waiting in line only to discover the pump was DRY. Then you had to move to another gas station and start the process again.

This was Government intervention at its worst.
believe me when I say this.
The market will take care of this and soon.
If and ONLY IF we can keep GOV OUT of it.

[coffee260]

On average, what's the oil company profits compared to the government profits for fiscal year 2007?

PROFITS:

• Oil Companies-- $75.2 billion dollars
• Government-- $177.1 billion dollars

[GreenAccord]

The author is simply making a case that the claim ‘Government makes more in taxes on a gallon of gas than the oil companies make’ is far more complicated than applying total taxes divided by total revenue versus net profits divided by total revenue.

In a manner of speaking, she is correct in that it is very difficult, when looking at all the industrial applications of petroleum, to sum up all the taxes oil companies pay and try to allocate it solely to gasoline.

That said, I believe it to be none of government’s business meddling into determining what ROI any industry deserves, so long as there’s not gouging or price fixing.

[Sopater]

The question that is not asked is "Does gov. earn more $ from gasoline than Big Oil?".

Gov't earns nothing. They just stand there with their hands out.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The short answer is “Yes.” And for some reason, The Sheeple ignore this FACT.

[mountainlion]

This is a liberal dancing around the fact that the government gets on average 16% of the money the oil companies get and the investors get 7% of the moneys. They can not bring the truth out because it is against there best interest. 60% has been stated as the profit of the futures traders.

[coffee260]

Indeed you are correct. The government produces nothing but tyranny.

[Graycliff]

I do know that those figures don’t include state severance taxes. All states apply a severance tax on all oil coming from that state. In TX it’s 4.6% or six dollars and 21 cents at today’s price.

[Sacajaweau]

My state loves the high prices...They tax on the dollar. About 2 years ago, they said they had already received what had been anticipated for the year...IN JUNE.