[IntinyBut]

Will Liberals never learn that corporations don't pay taxes? They pass it on as a cost of doing business. Consumers ultimately will pay higher prices at the pump from this.

Obama reissues call to end oil company tax breaks

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Obama-....html?x=0&.v=1

[JulietOreira]

Brad, when oil companies get tax subsidies, that's our money. We pay taxes, oil companies get subsidies from our taxes. Or, we could borrow money from China (which I know you love) and give it to the oil companies. Either way, we're paying. I don't know about you, but the idea of giving billions to oil companies that make huge profits already rubs me the wrong way.

[wgX44EEn]

In his fever-swamp logic, any tax on corporations is pointless, because they are supposedly all passed along to consumers via price hikes. Well, so are building costs and wages. So are materials and permits. So are legal and accounting fees.

In most cases, companies then price themselves competitively in the marketplace to win consumer purchase activity and loyalty. Except in the case of oil, where prices are set by a foreign cartel and market speculators and refineries simply ride along and maximize their own profits. The price paid at the pump has minimal relationship to actual hard costs or supply.

The only real solution to the oil situation is to more aggressively develop alternate energy vehicles. Natural gas, electric, whatever. More volume will bring pricing in line with traditional cars and trucks, and more commerce will fuel a competitive race to maximize mileage range.

Corporations should absolutely pay taxes in line with what regular, middle class Americans pay. And a multi-billion dollar subsidy to big oil for no defendable reason is worse than them underpaying in taxes, it's big oil taking money directly away from social safety net programs while swimming in record profits.

[Filling25]

Will Conservatives never learn that corporations don't pay taxes? They pass it on as a cost of doing business. Consumers ultimately will pay higher prices at the pump from this.

Wow, that's quite a quote there, Regis.

What I see here is that Ryan has had his ass kicked consistently in his town hall meetings, and to his credit, he's starting to learn what his constituents expect from him. They want less spending, but they also want corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share and provide revenue to keep important programs from being cut.

But targeting big oil, big agribusiness and big energy while a Republican, that's impressive. We'll see if it's anything more than words to appease that day's audience, but if anything comes of this, that's a big chunk of our deficit right there.

Follow that up with eliminating the entirety of the Bush tax cuts, and we get to keep our Medicare and schools and parks and so on and still headed to a surplus in the next decade.

Politico: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53895.html
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan called for ending oil subsidies Thursday, further complicating Republican efforts to stay on message about rising gas prices.

The Wisconsin Republican told constituents at a Waterford, Wis., town hall meeting that he agreed that federal oil subsidies ought to end.

“We’re talking about reforming the safety net, the welfare system; we also want to get rid of corporate welfare. And corporate welfare goes to agribusiness companies, energy companies, financial services companies, so we propose to repeal all that,” Ryan said in response to a question about oil subsidies.

A video of Ryan's town hall meeting was circulated by Think Progress, a blog run by the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress Action Fund.

In a statement to POLITICO, Ryan’s office said the House-passed budget resolution “clearly states that as part of an overall corporate tax reform, tax loopholes and deductions for all corporations should be scaled back or eliminated entirely. That obviously includes oil companies. Elsewhere, we state that subsidies for all energy companies need to be reduced or eliminated so that we can get government out of the business of picking winners and losers in the market.”

[Mark_NyB]

Another effect from higher corporate taxes is that rather then take money from the company and putting into their pockets, the corporation will reinvest in the company which allows it to grow, give employees raises, etc. The officers of the corporation still get lots of Perks that are tax right offs, a win win.