Big oil companies spared tax hikes
Thursday, June 21, 2007 12:26:13 PMSenate Republicans on Thursday blocked a $32 billion package of tax breaks for renewable energy that would have been financed mostly by new taxes on major oil companies.
Democrats came three votes short of overcoming a threatened GOP filibuster that was keeping the measure from being attached to a broader energy bill. Republican senators argued that the nearly $29 billion in additional taxes on major oil companies would have led to reduced production and higher gasoline prices.
Because of Republican opposition, Democrats needed 60 votes to allow the package to come up for a vote, but fell short, 57-36. With a number of senators not voting, Democrats could resurrect the measure later, though there was no immediate indication of that.
Here is a quote by Hilliary Clinton:” I want to take those profits and put them into an alternative energy fund that will begin to fund alternative smart energy alternatives that will actually begin to move us toward the direction of independence.”
Just so you know the score when you fill up your vehicle and complain about how the oil companies are price gouging. The gouging information you are getting is coming from liberals. All the Democrat front runners in the 2008 presidential race have at one point or another declared that they are going to take the big oil company’s excessive profits. Excessive always being a term that is very subjective.
Let’s take one company, Exxon, for example. Last year Exxon had record profits of $39 billion for the fiscal year 2006. Exxon makes on average 10 cents per gallon. The higher profits are the result of higher volume of gasoline consumed. Contrast that with what the government makes per gallon–50 cents per gallon on average. On Exxon’s sales alone the government made $195 billion dollars. Remember there are many more large oil companies, this is just one.
Now 10 cents profit per gallon of gasoline that is selling for $3 per gallon is around 3%. I doubt you would find many companies on the Fortune 500 turning just a 3% profit. Why aren’t the liberals windbags rattling their sabres about companies like Microsoft, Apple, Coca Cola, etc. that enjoy a significantly higher profit margins? Classic Demagoguery.