The same Congress that will jack up prices at the pump if they enact their shamanistic policies 1) to fight the chimera of anthropogenic global warming and 2) repeal tax deductions Congress passed for all manufacturers scolded Big Oil on Capitol Hill over jacked up prices at the pump. Highlights? Oh yeah.
J. Stephen Simon, Exxon Mobil Corp.’s senior vice president, and Robert A. Malone, president of BP America, pointed to figures they said suggest the oil and gas industry’s profits last year were not out of line with companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Oil and gas companies, the executives said, earned an average of 8.3 cents per dollar of sales, compared with 7.8 cents per dollar for the Dow companies — which include Exxon Mobil and Chevron.
Simon said that Exxon Mobil’s effective tax rate in 2007 was 44 percent, compared with 30 percent on average for 80 U.S. companies surveyed by Tax Notes, a print and online news service covering tax issues.
Simon said that over the last five years, Exxon Mobil’s U.S. tax bill has exceeded the company’s U.S. earnings by $19 billion.
Why isn’t Exxon Mobil investing more in “alternative energies?”
… fossil fuels are still going to account for at least two-thirds of the world’s energy consumption in three decades and whatever scientific progress is made, the practical prospects for alternatives remain “very, very small.”
And…
Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive officer of Netherlands-based Royal Dutch Shell, warned against sinking too much cash on alternatives such as biofuels if they cannot be competitive in the marketplace.
“There is no point to spend billions of dollars on a technology that is too expensive for consumers,” van der Veer said.
(Hat tip.)
18 comments
Can’t wait for the Congress to hold hearings as to why corn prices have climbed so fast and why farmers still need subsidies. but I won’t hold my breath.
$19 Billion in taxes over the last 5 years, huh?
How many jobs were lost or not allocated for so the government could get a 44% cut? How many new holes did Exxon not drill in North America because they couldn’t afford it after paying taxes?
How much research into alternative fuels was not done…….?
Well, you can’t blame Exxon saying they were only in it for the money. They made 8.3 cents per dollar profit for the owners of their stock or mutual fund/401K that invests in ExxonMobil. You demanded a return on your investment and they made it for you. But also, take note that the government took your money, too – in that $19B of excess taxes.
When you tax the “rich corporations” unfairly – the middle class and poor lose. But the government wins every time.
I’ve decided I’m going to become a government.
Good to see Artie MacStrawman in attendance.
The point of investing in new technologies is to reduce costs for the consumer. New technology starts out very expensive and costs come down as we learn more efficient methods of manufacturing.
Also, Exxon’s statements to Congress about their taxes don’t match their own SEC filings. In 2007 they claim to have paid $29.86B in income taxes on $70.87B in EBITA, in 2006 $27.902 on $68.06B and in 2005 they paid $23.30B on $59.928B. That’s a total of $81.07B in tax expense on $198.86B in earnings. Unless they paid $136B in taxes in 2004 and 2003 then there’s no way they paid $19B more in taxes than earnings.
Corporate income taxes are way too high in this country, but lying to Congress won’t make them any lower.
I watched this hearing. The Repukes did nothing but kiss the rear of these executives and the Dems let them slide by with a little slap. Of course that freak Sensenbrener put a stop to the questioning when Stepak and Jackson were ready to bust those boys in the scrotal area. The dude from Exxon had to fess up to his “private” meeting with Cheney and nothing got accomplished.
Why is it that when they hold these hearings, they only get 5 minutes to ask questions? When it come to mismangement of the war and astronomical gas prices, these scumbuckets could give a little more time to explain why we should continue to allow them to stay out of prison.
As Stepak said yesterday, what goes around comes around. How anyone in their right mind (who doesn’t have oil stock) could agree with these criminals is beyond me.
Jamesn –
Simon said that over the last five years, Exxon Mobil’s U.S. tax bill has exceeded the company’s U.S. earnings by $19 billion.
Errh – oooooh, the “Repukes”. That’s really clever, did you just think of that? What grade are you in? You must be smarter than all the other girls in your class. BTW, there is a site called democraticunderground.com where you might feel more at home. I’m sure most of your friends are already there.
From JamesN: “The point of investing in new technologies is to reduce costs for the consumer. New technology starts out very expensive and costs come down as we learn more efficient methods of manufacturing.”
Yeah, just like nuclear power made electricity cheaper….
Yeah, those sweet endearing oil companies have done no harm whatsoever. I recommend reading Rockefeller’s book, Titan, sometime for a great read on the innocent upbringing of the oil industry. Also, forget about global warming for a minute, and think about the fact that every time we fill up our tanks, we’re lining the pockets of our “enemies” (Russia, Iran, Venezuela), or at the very least, the nation whose citizens took out the World Trade Center. That seems like a worthwhile reason to tax the hell out of this commodity and relegate it to extinction.
Note to Wick:
If your advertisers discover that there are so many ignorant mouth-breathers reading Frontburner, you’ll be forced to cut your rates.
Kneal
I didn’t create the word Repukes, it was Harriet Miers. I am in the 5th grade and I am the second smartest chick in my class. Kay Baily Butchinson is the smartest.
Jesus has called me to this site.
I’m just waiting for someone to call someone a Nazi.
Love the global warming freaks, they have no time perspective in relation to the age of the world. All they do is concentrate on the past few years and immediately pump it up to be the end of the world.
As for the govmint getting involved in corp business, the non-Marty Cortland’s of Dallas would like Congress to ask to ask Wick why he is charging so much for a subscription to D. Is it because he has so many houses to hide from the public?
Where does D buy their ink and paper from? Do those companies have any ties to “our enemies?” At least we know that Earl Campbell Links are produced here in Texas. I would think that Cactus Juice is locally produced as well.
So i guess these news stories from the past two weeks are just some cRaZy KoOkY conspiracy theories:
http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/app/article.aspx?id=2190
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/03/26/us.russian.planes/
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-hayden31mar31,1,7553059.story
Now please, remind us again about those poor, downtrodden oil companies, and why it’s bad business for the government to pick on them.
So Jason — I suppose this means you support drilling in ANWAR and off the coasts?
And have you stopped using all the evil energy that energy companies make possible? Using a hand-cranked laptop to post from? Refusing refrigerated food, medicines, and the hundreds of thousands of other products made possible through petroleum and the burning of carbons?
I love reading posts by this “Trey Garrison” character y’all created… he’s teh funny!
“The chimera of anthropogenic global warming”! I hope you liked that one, MushMouth. We worked on that joke a long time. Think we nailed it.
Global temperatures have been declining since 1998.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7329799.stm