Congress looking to raise tax on oil to help pay to clean up spills

Congress looking to raise tax on oil to help pay to clean up spills | wwltv.com | WWLTV.com News

Congress is getting ready to quadruple -- to 32 cents a barrel -- a tax on oil used to help finance cleanups. The increase would raise nearly $11 billion over the next decade.

:angryfire:angryfire

 

everything falls back on the consumer. why can't they tax the f out of the oil companies and cap oil prices at 3 bucks a gallon.

 

My favorite quote from Reid was along the lines of saying tax payers will not pay for the cleanup.:insane:

Does he not know how business works. The tax will just get passed down to the consumers at the pump and paying for anything that is a result of a byproduct like plastics. I mean, people who have never taken a business class know that if someone's costs go up, to maintain profits, they are going to increase their prices.

 

for this spill, those responsible - bp, halliburton, transocean - should foot the bill. other companies did not cause it and neither did the consumer. if the three stooges pass it on to their customers, their customers can pay or not by choosing to do business (or not) with them. for any federal expenditure in this, again, present the three with a bill from the feds.

all this does is let oil companies off the hook financially for spills. if they have a spill, they pay to clean it up. and instead of taxes, levy heavy fines for spills and put that in a fund to help pay the federal expenses during a spill. you hold the guilty accountable, without punishing those that have safe drilling practices and no spills. but an across the board tax is punishing the entire industry for the safety lapse of some.

have i ever mentioned i despise harry reid?:rolleye33:

 

Yeah but what if they come back and say, you know, we wouldn't be out here drilling if not for the consumer. We are a country that is addicted to the black crack. If this isn't a sign at least to Louisianians that we need to start finding ways to rid ourselves of oil and find alternative energy sources i don't know what is.

BTW, if they did come back and say that, i do not support that idea, just think that would be their rebuttal. I am really proud of our Governor though for the way he has been in Washington's face and BP's, i didn't vote for the guy, but he is starting to grow on me.

 

Looks like Congress is doing their best to ensure that voters stay as pissed off as possible.

 

He has shown some balls hasn't he compared to the Texas and Mississippi governors

 

This is essentially an insurance premium like the FDIC "tax" on banks. I know you want the company that screws up to bare all the cost, but what if it's a smaller company that could never afford to pay the clean up? Well you could require insurance policies, and insurance policies cost money and that's a cost that will show up at the pump too.

A company like BP is for all practical purposes self insured. While 10 Billion is a lot of money, it isn't an existential crisis for them. For the non super majors it probably is, so they will need insurance. This will put them at a disadvantage and so a lot of small companies go away since it isn't a level playing field. Big companies get bigger and even more arrogant.

Philosophically one could choose either way. Debate the consequences of alternative policy choices and choose with your eyes open.