Sat 12 Aug 2006
I think we’ve mentioned it before in spoken conversations, but here is a definative source. TaxProf Blog: Gas Taxes Exceed Oil Companies’ Profits.
The government collects more in tax revenues applied to gas and oil than oil companies make in profits.
The next time Congress is pandering and trying to buy your vote, ask them to remove some of their legislated taxes instead.
It makes me wonder again why the CPI exclude taxes…
August 13th, 2006 at 1:43 am
So I’m confused. Are they complaining that the government is getting too much or that oil companies too little? Is the ratio between profits and taxes a meaningful comparison? Seems like apples and oranges to me. And the profits aren’t a problem themselves, only the taxes exceeding them? Is it a race or something? Anyway, you inspired a new post.
August 13th, 2006 at 2:19 am
Very funny… I wasn’t pointing to their confusing commentary, only the specific point that the government rakes in more money from taxing oil and gas than those evil oil companies do. Ironic that now the government wants to levy a “windfall tax”, even though they get more windfall than the oil companies.
Leave it to a tax lawyer to confuse the role of government in private enterprise…
August 13th, 2006 at 8:50 pm
Yes, that certainly is ironic. I wonder if imbalances of this nature create a sense of competition between government and enterprise, perhaps leading to conflicting feelings of entitlement.