NPRA attacks new energy tax proposals

The National Petrochemical & Refiners Association president Charles T. Drevna issued the following statement on May 11 regarding proposals in the Senate to eliminate tax deductions for companies that produce oil and natural gas and that manufacture fuels and petrochemicals from oil and natural gas:

‘Singling out one sector of our economy and the 9.2 million men and women it employs for unfair and discriminatory tax treatment is political demagoguery and public policy at its worst. Instead of engaging in the politics of demonisation and vilification, our leaders should be working to develop an energy policy that is focused on serving the American people.

‘Imposing what would amount to a multibillion dollar energy tax would be bad for American consumers, for the American economy and for America’s national security. It would hurt American companies producing energy and fuels in our own country and give foreign competitors an unfair advantage, endangering American jobs and making America more reliant on foreign energy.

‘It makes no sense to slap billions of dollars in new taxes on energy that Americans use every day to subsidise other forms of energy that can’t compete on their own in a free market. American oil and natural gas producers and fuel and petrochemical manufacturers already pay hundreds of billions of dollars in federal, state and local taxes and don’t get a penny in government subsidies. These companies simply want the right to maintain the same type of tax deductions that every other American business already gets. We ask for no special treatment, only fair and equitable treatment.’

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/12052011/npra_attacks_new_energy_tax_proposals/