WASHINGTON, March 26, 2012 – API’s Tax Policy Manager Stephen Comstock
told reporters this morning that the proposal now before the Senate to raise taxes on selected oil and natural gas companies would do nothing to reduce gasoline prices but would damage job creation, oil and gas production, and energy security. He said API was launching a major advertising campaign to inform the public about the possible consequences of raising the industry’s taxes:
“Let’s be clear: the Senate proposal is not about addressing gasoline prices. Higher taxes will not result in lower fuel prices. In fact, a recent Congressional Research Service analysis concludes that actions like this could increase fuel prices. And 76 percent of Americans agree with this, according to a recent poll by Harris Interactive. Strong majorities of people of every age, gender, political party, and educational background agree.
“There’s a better path forward. Put policies in place that would allow our companies to do more at home producing the oil and natural gas our nation will use. Had those policies been in place over the last few years, it would already be reflected in additional government revenues. We would not have lost an estimated $5 billion from slower development in the Gulf of Mexico, for example. In fact, a full program of development would be delivering to the government far more additional revenue than the Senate tax increase proposal could ever hope to provide.
“The tax increase proposal now in the Senate may serve someone’s political goals but it would be a Trojan horse to our economy and to our energy security. It’s a bad idea – a destructive idea – and we urge all senators to oppose it.”
API represents more than 500 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America’s energy, supports 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers more than $86 million a day in revenue to our government, and, since 2000, has invested more than $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.