Democrats take aim at oil industry tax breaks, partnerships
Lawmakers are reviving plans to end tax breaks for oil, gas and coal companies, but this time, the campaign comes with a new twist.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, and Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., on Thursday introduced legislation that would repeal $110 billion worth of tax incentives, financing provisions and government-funded research for the fossil fuels over the next decade.
The measure also would block oil and gas companies from operating as master limited partnerships, an arrangement that allows them to escape paying state and federal corporate income taxes. The change would translate into federal savings of $2.4 billion over the next 10 years.
Sanders said the tax policies amounted to “polluter welfare.”
“We know that the fossil fuel industry is making huge profits at the expense of our children and grandchildren and the future of our planet,” Sanders said.
Other proposals to end tax breaks for oil and gas companies have been advanced on Capitol Hill this year, but they have repeatedly failed in the Senate, even when gas prices — and public frustration with paying more at the pump — was high
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