by Jon Taplin
I have a suggestion for a nervous Democratic Party going into the November elections. They should run on a simple platform: End Corporate Welfare Now.
A story in this morning's New York Times brings this issue to Page One. The oil industry while ruthlessly fighting any sort of carbon tax, is the beneficiary of Billions in corporate welfare tax breaks and subsidies.
But an examination of the American tax code indicates that oil production is among the most heavily subsidized businesses, with tax breaks available at virtually every stage of the exploration and extraction process.
According to the most recent study by the Congressional Budget Office, released in 2005, capital investments like oil field leases and drilling equipment are taxed at an effective rate of 9 percent, significantly lower than the overall rate of 25 percent for businesses in general and lower than virtually any other industry.
It's not just Big Oil on corporate welfare. How about Big Agriculture.
1 comment:
Interesting thougghts
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