Give Oil Company profits to the people

[ZZman]

Would it be a good idea to have Oil companies be forced to give some of their profits back to the people to help the economy?

Or....make them do more exploration and increase refining capacity?

or......make them spend on alternative energy R & D?

 

[Johnny]

If the people want oil company money, they should buy oil company stock.

The oil companies want to do more exploration, they are just waiting on permission to do so.

And as for as I know, they are already spending on R&D and alternative energy.

 

[mcshooter]

just saw this oil companies make 8% profit .. pharmcutiles make 35% tech make 24% so i guess all making over 8% should have to give anything over to the goverment .. yea right.. how about everones next raise ? should we cap that ?

 

[salesrep]

No.
We are not a fascist or a state of communism.

 

[wavinwayne]

From each according to their ability, to each according to their need.

Sound familiar?

 

[buster]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080812/ap_on_bi_ge/corporations_income_tax

Sounds like a lot of U.S. companies avoided paying federal income taxes.

 

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: mcshooter
just saw this oil companies make 8% profit .. pharmcutiles make 35% tech make 24% so i guess all making over 8% should have to give anything over to the goverment .. yea right.. how about everones next raise ? should we cap that ?


That's just it--how about health insurance companies? How about real estate speculators? We get all worked up over oil while a lot of other people are making more.

John

 

[wwillson]

How about your Christmas bonus? Where does it stop? Slippery slope

 

[LTVibe]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
Would it be a good idea to have Oil companies be forced to give some of their profits back to the people to help the economy?

Alaska has been doing just that and guess what's happening.

Quote:
"Clearly, from the investor standpoint, Alaska has become a less attractive place to invest exploration and production dollars," said Marilyn Crockett, executive director of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association.

BP Alaska, which runs Prudhoe Bay, said earlier this year that it had delayed the development in the western region of the North Slope as a result of the tax. ConocoPhillips cited the same reason for scrapping a $300 million refinery project.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

The government should get all of everyone's money and redistribute it as they see fit. The government does the best job of managing money and the citizenry is not responsible enough to do it for themselves.

Anyone who would dispute this is un-American. Doctors, engineers, etc. should be paid the same wage as janitors. That way we will have more doctors and engineers and skilled workers. This is what made the Soviets and Chicoms so advanced as economies and societies.

Profit is evil and should be discouraged. Innovation brings profit and should also be discouraged.

 

[drivewaytech]

Perhaps the oil companies should fork over a percentage of profits and get out of the exploration and R&D business. Let the government manage that task. With all the years of experience and education our politicians have in such endeavors, they would do a much better job.

 

[Gary Allan]

No matter which way you go, business never changes. It reacts. Just like water seeking an outlet, it will just make them extract what they need in some other manner.

The key is to raise better citizens.

 

[LTVibe]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
...it will just make them extract what they need in some other manner.

Or from some other locations well away from US territory and the tax collectors, increasing our dependence on foreign sources. It happened in the past and it will happen again.

 

[Laminar Lou]

I have a problem with that article. It states that transfer pricing is an issue with supposed water's edge corporations. The whole reason we have the water's edge corps is to encourage outside investment in the US. Face it, the labor in this country is expensive. You want Asian and European investment? You got to let them transfer some of the profit back home. Else, they will just build it in the "world's factory floor" in China.

One thing this artilce leaves out is the amount that corporations pay in payroll taxes. They still pay that even if they don't make a profit. Working for a water's edge corp, I know full well that we barely make a profit. We still pay a good chunk to local, state (in sales/use tax), and federal income tax. Even though there is legal transfer pricing going on in my company (which we have to do a study for the IRS every few years), the switch to a huge corporate owner in Japan has created more jobs in the US (because of all the stupid reports we produce).

Not saying that is happening everywhere, but when you focus on just the tax on profit you are missing the whole picture.

 

[Strakes]

Stealing something that belongs to someone else and giving it to me. Hum, let's see,that's ethical! Let's not comment on the fact that the government(s) made more off of oil & gasoline taxes than the oil companies themselves. For example: Corporate Income taxes, FET, State and local taxes,...the list goes on.

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: Strakes
Stealing something that belongs to someone else and giving it to me. Hum, let's see,that's ethical! Let's not comment on the fact that the government(s) made more off of oil & gasoline taxes than the oil companies themselves. For example: Corporate Income taxes, FET, State and local taxes,...the list goes on.
On top of that all the taxes fees etc the fed and local governments take from you and I.

 

[oilyriser]

Don't forget mandates, that force you to spend your time and money working for the gov't.

 

[Vilan]

If you made them give, say, 25 cents per gallon back to the consumer, they would raise prices by 25 cents a gallon. Guess that wouldn't be very helpful to us.

 

[Shannow]

Seen that heaps down here.

Petrol company states that they will cut their (inflated) transport charges, Govt absorbs the saving on the same day....and vice versa.

 

[Gary Allan]

I find it funny that if you take a $0.25 of profit and redistribute it ..you're in some nasty place. If you take future "take" and redistribute it ...you're a hero.


It's funny that no one really admits that either is like digging a hole to put all the dirt in. There's no escape from a circle with no doors.