With Republicans in charge of the White House and Congress, the fossil fuel industry has been lobbying to undermine a tax put in place under former President Joe Biden’s landmark climate law, according to a 1 report out today from United to End Polluter Handouts 2 , a new campaign to combat the massive subsidies the U.S. government gives to fossil fuel companies.
The report, “ 3 Minimum Tax, Maximum Influence,” details an effort by Sen. James Lankford (R–Okla.) to allow U.S. oil and gas producers to escape the 15% corporate alternative minimum tax that was a cornerstone of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. This measure was designed to stop profitable corporations from taking advantage of loopholes to pay nothing or nearly nothing in taxes. The new report draws on investor calls and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission to identify oil companies that may benefit from Sen.Lankford’s legislation.
Earlier this year, Lankford (R–Okla.) introduced the Promoting Domestic Energy Production Act 4 , which would provide oil and gas drillers a special loophole to deduct certain drilling costs from taxes owed under the corporate minimum tax. Lankford’s proposal may be added to the mammoth Republican tax cut package benefitting the wealthiest Americans and large corporations while slashing health benefits for everyday Americans later this year.
“It is simply outrageous that the GOP is using its trifecta to create yet another fossil fuel subsidy,” said Lukas Shankar-Ross, deputy director of Friends of the Earth’s Climate and Energy Justice Program and co-author of the report. “If this polluter handout is snuck into the GOP tax bill, then cuts to Medicaid and food stamps could well pay for another giveaway to Big Oil. That’s obscene.”
If passed, this newest tax break would add to more than $170 billion 5 in existing subsidies for fossil fuel companies.
“Oil and gas companies are using the political influence they purchased to dodge paying even a minimal part of their fair share,” said Alan Zibel, energy research director with Public Citizen and co-author of the report. “If individual taxpayers understood the magnitude of the extreme subsidies for Big Oil, they would be shocked. The newest effort to bypass even the most modest of tax bills by the industry is shocking, but sadly not surprising.”
Read the full report “Minimum Tax, Maximum Influence 6 ” here.
This content originally appeared on Common Dreams 7 and was authored by Newswire Editor.