The fight over oil subsidies
Democrats in the U.S. Senate are seeking to strip the five biggest oil companies of tax breaks that pad their profits by $2 billion a year and instead use the money to help defray the spiraling budget deficit.
Legislation unveiled Tuesday by three Democratic senators would cut off immensely profitable companies — Shell, Exxon Mobil, BP, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips — from subsidies such as a deduction originally aimed at boosting manufacturing. The bill would also close a loophole that effectively allows oil companies to shield themselves from taxes by deducting royalties paid to foreign governments.
The top five oil companies have booked profits of $36 billion in the first quarter this year. The Democrats say at those levels the big oil companies wouldn’t miss the subsidies.
Don’t forget that ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips are all on the list of top tax avoiders, and received hundreds of millions of dollars in tax rebates and tax breaks last year.
On Wednesday, ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva outraged many on Capitol Hill when he released a statement calling it “un-American” to end subsidies to the Big 5 oil companies — ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips. A press release referencing the subsidies posted on the company’s website was headlined: “ConocoPhillips Highlights Solid Results and Raises Concerns Over Un-American Tax Proposals at Annual Meeting of Shareholders.”
That’s right. In ConocoPhillips’ view, it’s un-American to not give billions of dollars per year to companies on track to make more than $100 billion this year. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), by the way, agrees with that assessment.
That’s a strong statement about what these corporations and politicians think America is and should be. They’re not just saying they think it would be a good idea for massive corporations to get massive tax breaks, no matter how enormous their profits are. They’re saying that it is America’s very identity to do that.
Which is about as clear as it gets when it comes to a statement about who you think the country and its government should work for—ConocoPhillips and Sen. Roberts are all about wealth over working people. They think that’s what America is. Do you agree?
How come they don’t call it socialsim when tax relief, cash subsidies and other govenment support is provided to large, mature and profitable industries: pharmacueticals, defense contractors, automobile, Oil/energy, insurance and banking. I could understand supporting emerging industry vital to our economy but to these guys? Who all the while, begrudge us the social security benefits that we paid into, meaning: less goverment monry for them. I think that the era of the “Robber Barons” has returned with a vengance.
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