Democrats set new records for stupidity!
Demos think they're gonna help us on these high gas prices by slapping a big winfall profits tax on the oil companies. Let's review kids. What happens when you tax something? You get less of it, and I'm not talking about Oil company profits, I'm talking about Oil!
Back in the late 1970s when the demos did this last, the winfall profits tax was responsible for reducing oil production by 6%.
Let's see the average oil company makes about 8 or 9 cents per gallon on gas and diesel sold here in the us. Federal government makes 18.4 cents on gas and 24.4 cents on diesel. The average state tax is 45 cents per gallon some up to 65 cents. In addition the average state has sales tax at 6% and some higher, at $4 per gallon that's another 24 cents. Now let's do the math 18.4+45+24=87.4 cents per gallon. Now who has been making winfall profits?
I have a little secret to tell you here, who do you think pays corp income taxes and other taxes put on businesses? It's the consumer. Companies pass taxes on as costs of doing business. So in addion to the 87.4 cents there is an unknown amount of "pass thru" taxes. Exxon paid $28 billion just in income taxes last year. I don't know if you people know this or not but Exxon passes that cost along to the consumer. The gas station pays taxes as well, the wholesaler that sells the gas to the gas station pays taxes. These taxes are all passed on the the end consumer.
So if it makes you feel better to confiscate the oil companies profits remember this, what ever the oil company pays in tax will eventually be in the price at the pump. And if you tax these guys too much they will just cut their production and the supply will shink and guess what happens when there is lower supply? No Nancy and Barack the price doesn't go down, it goes up. Scarcity causes higher prices.
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