Monday, June 09, 2008

Oil Profits Tax, A Bad Idea

Now Obama is talking about a profits tax on oil companies. How ridiculous can you get? Has this guy taken one business course in his life? If the oil companies are taxed even more than there are, they will do more than just pay those taxes, but they will charge even more for the gas that they provide. Do you really think a publicly-traded company would just pay those taxes and move on? These companies are under intense pressure by stockholders to increase profits. An increasing tax burden would only decrease their profits. The only alternative is to increase prices to at least maintain current profit levels. A lot of people are stockholders; do you really want to invest in a company that is experiencing declining profits? I really doubt it.

Didn't Jimmy Carter try a similar tactic back in the 70s? That plan backfired; the oil companies cut production, and little of the expected revenue was generated. We all know how Carter-style economic policies turn out; lets not not go back to those days.

Taxes on the companies that provide oil and gasoline will not solve our addiction to oil; it will only make things worse. Please, Washington, give us real leadership and seek long-term solutions that work.

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