A Senate proposal to curb tax credits for the world’s five largest oil companies and extend tax breaks to wind-energy companies faces opposition from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and many who favor increased domestic oil production.
“Make no mistake, raising taxes on this industry would ripple through the economy, hurting all Americans,” said Stephen Brockton, tax policy manager for API.
“Considering we [oil and natural gas] are one of the few industries that continue to invest, innovate and actually create jobs throughout the economic downturn, the best you can say about this tax increase proposal is that it’s counter-productive,” he said on a Monday morning conference call.
Introduced by Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the Repeal Big Oil Subsidies Act would limit the number of tax credits currently available to the five most profitable oil companies: ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips and Shell.
Conversely, the bill seeks to incentivize wind-energy production and the purchase of energy-efficient homes and appliances by American consumers.
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