November 1, 2022 |
President Joe Biden yesterday threatened to impose new taxes on an oil industry that he said on the campaign trail he wanted to put out of business.
Speaking for just five minutes at the White House on Halloween, Biden held forth the specter of a special windfall profit tax on producers who he said were “war profiteering.”
If the oil companies aren’t doing anything new, neither is the White House. Wyoming Senator John Barrasso said the Biden administration isn’t doing what it does best—raise taxes. “President Biden loves to raise taxes,” Barrasso said in a statement.
The president “and Senate Democrats have worked purposely for months to increase energy costs. That includes a tax increase on oil and natural gas just a few months ago. That didn’t help bring consumer energy prices down and this tax increase won’t either,” Barrasso said.
Biden alleged higher than usual corporate profits could explain about $0.50 per gallon of consumer costs.
White House policies also play a role in the increase over the last 18 months. The Biden administration has promised to put big oil out of business by making their specialized product—gasoline and diesel—a non-factor in the energy marketplace.
Two alternatives exist to a “war tax.” De-escalate the conflict in Ukraine by seeking a peace settlement and/or provide incentives for oil companies to produce more raw crude in the U.S. Neither alternative fit with radical White House policies.
In any case, the president’s threat of a windfall tax is unlikely to ever happen due in part to the 60-vote threshold required to pass most legislation in the Senate, as well as the narrow margin of Democratic control of the House. Republicans need only five House seats next week to regain the majority after four years out of power — and flip one seat to regain the Senate.
