Oregon Democrat Weiden, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, imposes an additional 21% tax on excess profits of oil and gas companies that generate more than $ 1 billion, according to a senator spokesperson. ing.
“Our broken tax law works for big oil, not for American families,” Weiden told CNN in a statement.
The proposal, previously reported by Bloomberg News, requires a 25% excise tax on stock repurchases, allowing critics to underestimate profits and postpone taxes indefinitely. It will close the accounting loophole.
“The proposal I’m developing helps reverse the perverse incentive to price gouge by doubling the corporate tax rate on corporate excess profits, eliminating terrible buybacks, and reducing accounting tricks. Let’s do it, “said Weiden.
Such a move could be popular given the surge in oil companies’ profits and record high gasoline prices.
However, imposing additional taxes on the oil industry risks backfired by curbing investment when companies need to spend more on expensive new drilling projects to keep up with demand.
“Policymakers should focus on increasing energy supply and reducing costs for Americans,” Frank McKearola, senior vice president of policy, economic and regulatory affairs at the American Petroleum Institute, said in a statement. “. “Imposing a new tax on our industry does the exact opposite and only discourages investment when it is most needed.”
It’s not clear if the White House will support the extra charges raised by Weiden. The White House did not immediately respond to the request for comment.
But last week, White House officials blasted the profits of “exorbitant” oil companies in an interview with CNN, leaving the door open to support storm profit taxes.
President Joe Biden revealed rhetoric to the oil industry on Friday, calling for ExxonMobil in particular.
“Exxon made more money than God last year,” Biden said.
A Weiden spokesperson said Senator’s oil surcharges stand out from similar stormy profit taxes introduced by Congress, as they are taxed on a profit margin rather than an oil price.
Specifically, a 21% additional tax will be applied to excess profits. In this proposal, the excess profit is calculated by subtracting 10% of the normal profit of the expense from the current profit. In this proposal, only companies that generate excess profits need to pay taxes.
Source: www.cnn.com
