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| Big Oil Reaps Financial Rewards - From the Government |
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| Written by Miranda Marquit | |
| Thursday, 31 May 2007 | |
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Big Oil is getting more money from your pocket that you might imagine -- in the form of your tax dollars.  Photo: canon in 2d, Creative Commons, Flickr As we know, Big Oil has enjoyed record profits for more than a year now. Indeed, this year's first quarter earnings for big oil companies was one of the biggest ever. But Big Oil get its cash inflow from more than just profits on its product. Not only do we pay at the pump to help bolster Big Oil profits, but we also pay as taxpayers. Here is what Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., has to say about part of the reason Big Oil is so profitable: [L]ast year Congress forked over $9 billion of our tax dollars to the big oil companies in tax breaks and subsidies. That doesn't make sense. The people who need the relief are consumers, not the big oil companies.That's right. A U.S. Senator pointed out something that many people don't know; part of the reason Big Oil is so profitable is that our government uses our tax payer dollars to make them so. But with rising gas prices and record profits regardless, I don't think that Big Oil companies would really miss this money that much. Exxon (XOM), Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP) and other Big Oil companies are making a killing with rising gas prices, slowing refinery production, and now, the onset of hurricane season. We pay them enough, does our money really have to be given to them through the government as well? Disclosure: The only Big Oil stock I am buying is BP (BP). I do not own any other Big Oil stocks. Site disclaimer. BP 
Big Oil 
CVX 
XOM 
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written by Caroline Miniscule , August 22, 2008 Tag it:           | |
| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 06 June 2007 ) | |
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How odd. From what I've read, the oil companies paid over $100 billion dollars in tax to the US in 2006. And you begrudge them $9 billion in tax breaks?
That's like whining that the guvmint gives people a $3,000 personal deduction, so they don't have to pay taxes on that $3,000, but they do have to pay taxes on the additional $30,000 or what have you that they make. Scandalous!
And...hm.... I wonder how many jobs Big Oil brings to a region, anyway?