Biden considering imposing a ‘windfall tax’ on energy company’s profits

President Joe Biden railed against Big Oil’s exorbitant profits when he announced a new “windfall tax” on energy companies in a speech Monday.

The record profits of ‘oil companies’ today are not because they are doing something new or innovative,” Biden said in comments to the White House. Their profits are a windfall of war. The windfall from the brutal conflict is ravaging Ukraine, affecting tens of millions of people around the world.”

Biden announced he would work with Congress on a tax targeting what he considers “excessive” profits, but he didn’t give details.

“Every company is entitled to fair compensation for the work they do or the innovation they generate. But I mean profits so high it’s hard to believe,” the president joked.

Last week, Exxon Mobil broke records for its third-quarter profit, with net income of $19.66 billion — nearly three times last year’s third-quarter profit — and Chevron’s profit of $11.23 billion, marking the end of the year. almost reached the record profit it made in the previous quarter .

Biden said that if oil companies had made the “average profit” they have made from refining oil over the past 20 years, gas prices would now be 50 percent lower on average.

“If they invested their profits and historic interest rates in their American operations, America would produce more oil today. Prices would fall further. But instead of increasing our investment in America, or giving Americans a break, their excess profits will go back to their shareholders, buy back their stock, and executive pay will skyrocket and give me a break – enough is enough, said Biden. .

The president is trying to fight high gas prices eight days before the midterm elections, which will decide whether Democrats retain control of Congress as persistent inflation numbers weighed on their polls.

Biden has tried to make the bogeyman for both oil companies and Russian President Vladimir Putin as he tries to cut prices at the pump. He blamed Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, but he also attacked Big Oil for not releasing enough crude oil and for its record profit margin.

“Oil companies have made billions in profit this quarter,” Biden tweeted on Saturday. “They are using these record profits to pay out their wealthy shareholders instead of investing in manufacturing and lowering costs for Americans. It is unacceptable. It is time for these companies to lower prices at the pump.’

High prices at the pump have exacerbated inflation and hurt Biden’s approval rating. Voters give him low marks for his handling of the economy.

Congress would have to pass any additional taxes on the energy producers — which would be a tall order in today’s Congress, where Democrats have limited control over the House and Senate, and even less likely if Republicans leave one or both chambers on Nov. 8. recapture.

President Biden likes to raise taxes. He and the Senate Democrats have been working deliberately for months to raise energy costs,” Senator John Barrasso, R-Wyo., a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement on the proposal.

President Biden must comply with the law and maintain required US oil and gas lease sales. He must deliver a robust five-year plan. That’s the right way to unleash American energy production and lower prices for American families.”

Americans have struggled with painfully high gasoline prices in recent months, paying an average of more than $4.80 for a gallon of regular gasoline in early July, according to AAA.

Since then, they have fallen to an average of $3.76 nationally, but the White House says they should be lower given the declines in global oil prices over the same period.

“I can’t believe I have to say this, but giving profits to shareholders is not the same as lowering prices for American families,” Biden tweeted Friday.

Biden has been critical of energy company profits since June, when he publicly complained that “Exxon made more money than God this year.”