this was when gas was only 1.16....they get more money than is shown in that .08 cents
This report by the International Center for
Technology Assessment (CTA) identifies and
quantifies the many external costs of using motor
vehicles and the internal combustion engine that are not
reflected in the retail price Americans pay for gasoline.
These are costs that consumers pay indirectly by way
of increased taxes, insurance costs, and retail prices in
other sectors.
The report divides the external costs of gasoline
usage into five primary areas: (1) Tax Subsidization of
the Oil Industry; (2) Government Program Subsidies;
(3) Protection Costs Involved in Oil Shipment and
Motor Vehicle Services; (4) Environmental, Health,
and Social Costs of Gasoline Usage; and (5) Other
Important Externalities of Motor Vehicle Use.
Together, these external costs total $558.7 billion to
$1.69 trillion per year, which, when added to the retail
price of gasoline, results in a per gallon price of $5.60
to $15.14.
TAX SUBSIDIES
The federal government provides the oil industry
with numerous tax breaks designed to ensure that
domestic companies can compete with international
producers and that gasoline remains cheap for
American consumers. Federal tax breaks that directly
benefit oil companies include: the Percentage
Depletion Allowance (a subsidy of $784 million to $1
billion per year), the Nonconventional Fuel Production
Credit ($769 to $900 million), immediate expensing of
exploration and development costs ($200 to $255
million), the Enhanced Oil Recovery Credit ($26.3 to
100 million), foreign tax credits ($1.11 to $3.4 billion),
foreign income deferrals ($183 to $318 million), and
accelerated depreciation allowances ($1.0 to $4.5
billion).
Tax subsidies do not end at the federal level. The
fact that most state income taxes are based on oil firms?
deflated federal tax bill results in undertaxation of $125
to $323 million per year. Many states also impose fuel
taxes that are lower than regular sales taxes, amounting
to a subsidy of $4.8 billion per year to gasoline retailers
and users. New rules under the Taxpayer Relief Act of
1997 are likely to provide the petroleum industry with
additional tax subsidies of $2.07 billion per year. In
total, annual tax breaks that support gasoline
production and use amount to $9.1 to $17.8 billion.
PROGRAM SUBSIDIES
Government support of US petroleum producers
does not end with tax breaks. Program subsidies that
support the extraction, production, and use of
petroleum and petroleum fuel products total $38 to
$114.6 billion each year. The largest chunk of this total
is federal, state, and local governments? $36 to $112
billion worth of spending on the transportation
infrastructure, such as the construction, maintenance,
and repair of roads and bridges. Other program
subsidies include funding of research and development
($200 to $220 million), export financing subsidies
($308.5 to $311.9 million), support from the Army
Corps of Engineers ($253.2 to $270 million), the
Department of Interior?s Oil Resources Management
Programs ($97 to $227 million), and government
expenditures on regulatory oversight, pollution
cleanup, and liability costs ($1.1 to $1.6 billion).
PROTECTION SUBSIDIES
Beyond program subsidies, governments, and thus
taxpayers, subsidize a large portion of the protection
services required by petroleum producers and users.
Foremost among these is the cost of military protection
for oil-rich regions of the world. US Defense
Department spending allocated to safeguard the
worlds? petroleum resources total some $55 to $96.3
billion per year. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a
federal government entity designed to supplement
regular oil supplies in the event of disruptions due to
military conflict or natural disaster, costs taxpayers an
additional $5.7 billion per year. The Coast Guard and
the Department of Transportation?s Maritime
Administration provide other protection services
totaling $566.3 million per year. Of course, local and
state governments also provide protection services for
oil industry companies and gasoline users. These
externalized police, fire, and emergency response
expenditures add up to $27.2 to $38.2 billion annually.
Re: we all need to do this at the same time
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