Legislation to End Fossil Fuel Tax Breaks Introduced by Sen. Sanders, Rep. Ellison

ZVUGKTUBM wrote:This legislation will go nowhere. It definitely will not pass the House...

Redgardless of what the climate-change fanatics wish for, the world runs on oil. You can take fossil fuels away from mankind, and you will immediately impoverish every living soul on Earth; if not kill-off more than half the human race.

There is nothing in this whole wide world that is going to stop world oil production. There is nothing that is going to stop production of America's 58 billion barrels of shale-oil, or its trillions of cubic feet of shale-gas. For the next several decades, the U.S. is going to be close to having energy independence. We will be one of the world's top oil producers, and will no longer be held hostage by OPEC. How can this be a bad thing?

While we are enjoying our shale abundance, great strides are being made in energy efficiency and the incorporation of more renewable energy into our energy-mix. Look for solar energy to eclipse fossil-fuels for the generation of electricity within a couple of decades. There is a lot going on to reduce our dependence on oil. Apparently, however, this isn't good enough for the most fanatical of the climate-change proponents.

Floridatexan wrote:
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/legislation-to-end-fossil-fuel-tax-breaks-introduced-by-sen-sanders-rep-ellison

Legislation to End Fossil Fuel Tax Breaks Introduced by Sen. Sanders, Rep. Ellison
Friday, November 22, 2013
WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 – As House and Senate budget negotiators look for ways to lower deficits, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) today introduced legislation to eliminate tax loopholes and subsidies that support the oil, gas and coal industries.

The End Polluter Welfare Act of 2013 would remove tax breaks, close loopholes, end taxpayer-funded fossil fuel research and prevent companies from escaping liability for spills or deducting cleanup costs. Under current law, these subsidies are expected to cost taxpayers more than $100 billion in the coming decade.

The White House budget proposal for next year calls for eliminating several of the same provisions that the legislation by Sanders and Ellison would end.

“At a time when fossil fuel companies are racking up record profits, it is time to end the absurdity of American taxpayers providing massive subsidies to these hugely profitable fossil fuel corporations,” Sanders said.

“The five biggest oil companies made $23 billion in the third quarter of 2013 alone. They don’t need any more tax giveaways,” Ellison said. “We should invest in the American people by creating good jobs and ending cuts to food assistance instead of throwing tens of billions of taxpayer dollars at one of the biggest and most profitable industries in the world.”

The five most profitable oil companies (ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, BP and ConocoPhilips) together made more than $1 trillion in profits over the past decade.

The Sanders and Ellison legislation is supported by environmental groups including Friends of the Earth, Oil Change International and 350.org.

The fiscal watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense, which has worked for nearly two decades to eliminate wasteful energy subsidies, also supports the bills.

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http://truth-out.org/news/item/20254-meet-americas-biggest-welfare-queens

"Let's talk about America's real welfare queens.
Republicans on Capitol Hill love to argue that welfare programs are costing taxpayers billions of dollars each year, and that welfare recipients are able to live lavish lifestyles thanks to the government.
But in reality, all of the welfare that the U.S. government provides to real, live human beings is just a drop in the ocean, compared to the billions and billions that the government hands out to corporations and big-business..."

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Chrissy wrote:yep, a socialist and a muslim

ZVUGKTUBM wrote:This legislation will go nowhere. It definitely will not pass the House...

Redgardless of what the climate-change fanatics wish for, the world runs on oil. You can take fossil fuels away from mankind, and you will immediately impoverish every living soul on Earth; if not kill-off more than half the human race.

There is nothing in this whole wide world that is going to stop world oil production. There is nothing that is going to stop production of America's 58 billion barrels of shale-oil, or its trillions of cubic feet of shale-gas. For the next several decades, the U.S. is going to be close to having energy independence. We will be one of the world's top oil producers, and will no longer be held hostage by OPEC. How can this be a bad thing?

While we are enjoying our shale abundance, great strides are being made in energy efficiency and the incorporation of more renewable energy into our energy-mix. Look for solar energy to eclipse fossil-fuels for the generation of electricity within a couple of decades. There is a lot going on to reduce our dependence on oil. Apparently, however, this isn't good enough for the most fanatical of the climate-change proponents.

Sal wrote:

Chrissy wrote:yep, a socialist and a muslim

And, in walks a bigoted, drunken, dyke.

Go figure.

2seaoat wrote:Mr. Markle.......really:

First, let’s take a look at oil subsidies that are obvious and unnecessary. Congress should eliminate the following subsidies:

   Government R&D. The Department of Energy (DOE) has spent taxpayer dollars on oil research and development, including funding for unconventional oil, gas, and coal. Although President Obama’s FY 2012 budget request significantly cuts funding for the Office of Fossil Energy, decreasing its size by $417.8 million below the FY 2010 appropriation, it does not go far enough. The only funding in this area should maintain the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, for which the President’s budget requests an appropriate $121.7 million. Eliminating all other fossil energy funding would save $399 million.
   Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Tax Credit. Oil producers receive a 15 percent tax credit for costlier methods and technologies, such as injecting liquids and carbon dioxide into the earth. Many EOR processes are no longer in use, and the tax credit applies only when the price of oil falls below a certain level.
   Marginal Well Production Credit. Marginal wells produce 15 or fewer barrels of oil per day, produce heavy oil, or produce mostly water and fewer than 25 barrels of oil per day. The marginal well production credit is another safety-net tax provision. This is another preferential tax credit that Congress should repeal.

Section 199 Deduction. This tax deduction, under Internal Revenue Code Section 199, goes to all domestic manufacturing. Producers of clothing, roads, electricity, water, and many other goods produced in the United States are all eligible for the manufacturer’s tax deduction. The Section 199 deduction is unavailable to the service sector, and even that is a stretch, as the tax deduction includes music and movie production. Removing oil and gas production eligibility for this tax break is not removing a subsidy or closing a tax loophole but imposing a targeted tax hike. In fact, Congress already imposed a tax hike on oil and natural gas companies by freezing the deduction at 6 percent when other manufacturers receive a 9 percent deduction.
Foreign Tax Credits and Deferral of Foreign Income. The foreign tax credit and deferral are two critical features of a worldwide tax system that prevent the U.S. corporate income tax from double taxing—and further crippling—the international competitiveness of U.S. companies. The President has proposed cutting deferral and limiting the applicability of the foreign tax credit. This would significantly increase taxes paid by U.S. businesses, subjecting more U.S. foreign income to double taxation and severely undermining the ability to compete abroad and grow at home. The President is charging in exactly the wrong direction. He should instead advance the competitiveness of American companies and workers by proposing to eliminate the U.S. tax on foreign source income. Foreign tax credits and deferral of foreign income are not unique to the oil industry, so the President’s proposal is just another punitive, targeted tax hike.

   Percentage Depletion Allowance. A depletion allowance is analogous to depreciation and is appropriate when the quantity of the potential resource is unknown, such as the amount of recoverable oil from a well. Independent oil and gas producers use a depletion allowance to recover capital investments over time. This is also available to producers involved in mining, timber, geothermal steam, and other natural deposits. The depletion allowance for independent oil and gas producers is 15 percent of the producer’s gross income from its average daily production, up to 1,000 barrels of oil. While there is nothing wrong with percentage depletion in theory, the question is whether at 15 percent it is overly generous or, possibly, not generous enough and should be raised. Congress should have an independent organization determine this.

   Exemption from Passive Loss Limitation. Passive activities occur when a landowner collects income or incurs losses without physically participating in activity on his land. For example, someone could own farmland but not operate the equipment or plant the crops. In oil and gas operations, passive activities include the cost of development and the operation of the property. Typically, taxpayers can deduct passive activity losses only against passive activity income; however, taxpayers with working interests in oil and gas are exempt from the passive loss limitation rules, allowing losses incurred from exploration in oil to offset non-oil income. Congress should repeal all passive loss limitation exemptions.