Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies: Current Status and Analysis

Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies:
Current Status and Analysis
Updated February 27, 2007
Salvatore Lazzari
Specialist in Public Finance
Resources, Science, and Industry Division



Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies:
Current Status and Analysis
Summary
The CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 (H.R. 6) was introduced by the House
Democratic leadership to revise certain tax and royalty policies for oil and natural gas
and to use the resulting revenue to support a reserve for energy efficiency and
renewable energy. Title I proposes to repeal certain oil and natural gas tax subsidies,
and use the resulting revenue stream to support the reserve. The Congressional
Budget Office (CBO) estimates that Title I would repeal about $7.7 billion in oil and
gas tax subsidies over the 10-year period from 2008 through 2017. In House floor
debate, opponents argued that the cut in oil and natural gas subsidies would dampen
production, cause job losses, and lead to higher prices for gasoline and other fuels.
Proponents counterargued that record profits show that the oil and natural gas
subsidies were not needed. The bill passed the House on January 18 by a vote of

264-123. This report presents a detailed review of oil and gas tax subsidies,


including those targeted for repeal by H.R. 6.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT05, P.L. 109-58) included several oil
and gas tax incentives, providing about $2.6 billion of tax cuts for the oil and gas
industry. In addition, EPACT05 provided for $2.9 billion of tax increases on the oil
and gas industry, for a net tax increase on the industry of nearly $300 million over 11
years. Energy tax increases comprise the oil spill liability tax and the Leaking
Underground Storage Tank financing rate, both of which are imposed on oil
refineries. If these taxes are subtracted from the tax subsidies, the oil and gas
refinery and distribution sector received a net tax increase of $1,356 million ($2,857
million minus $1,501 million).
EPACT05 was approved and signed into law at a time of very high petroleum
and natural gas prices and record oil industry profits. The House approved the
conference report on July 28, 2005, and the Senate on July 29, 2005, clearing it for
the President’s signature on August 8 (P.L. 109-58). However, the tax sections
originated in the106th Congress, with its effort in 1999 to help the ailing domestic oil
and gas producing industry, particularly small producers, deal with depressed oil
prices. Subsequent price spikes prompted concern about insufficient domestic energy
production capacity and supply. All the early bills appeared to be weighted more
toward stimulating the supply of conventional fuels, including capital investment
incentives to stimulate production and transportation of oil and gas.
In addition to the tax subsidies enacted under EPACT05, the U.S. oil and gas
industry qualifies for several other targeted tax subsidies (FY2006 revenue loss
estimates appear in parenthesis): (1) percentage depletion allowance ($1 billion); (2)
expensing of intangible drilling costs for successful wells and non-geological and
geophysical costs for dry holes, including the exemption from the passive loss
limitation rules that apply to all other industries ($1.1 billion); (3) a tax credit for
small refiners of low-sulfur diesel fuel that complies with Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) sulfur regulations ($ 50 million); (4) the enhanced oil recovery tax
credit ($0); and (5) marginal oil and gas production tax credits ($0).



Contents
Action in the 110th Congress.........................................1
Background ......................................................1
Policy Context and Analysis.........................................2
Oil and Gas Tax Provisions in EPACT05 and their Revenue Effects .........5
Amortization of Geological and Geophysical Expenditures.............6
Determination of Independent Producer Status for Purposes of the Oil
Depletion Deduction.......................................7
Natural Gas Distribution Lines Treated as 15-Year Property ............9
Temporary Expensing for Equipment Used in Oil Refining.............9
Arbitrage Rules Not To Apply to Prepayments for Natural Gas..........9
Natural Gas Gathering Lines Treated as Seven-Year Property..........10
Pass Through to Owners of Deduction for Capital Costs Incurred
by Small Refiner Cooperatives in Complying with EPA Sulfur
Regulations .............................................10
Modification and Extension of Credit for Producing Fuel from a
Nonconventional Source for Facilities Producing Coke or
Coke Gas...............................................11
Revenue Effects..............................................13
Tax Increases................................................15
Other Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies.....................................15
Other Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies ................................16
General Tax Provisions that May Benefit the Oil and Gas Industry..........19
List of Tables
Table 1. Energy Tax Provisions in the Energy Tax Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58):
11-Year Estimated Revenue Loss, by Type of Incentive..............14
Table 2. Special Tax Incentives Targeted for the Oil and Gas Industry and
Estimated Revenue Losses, FY2006 .............................17



Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies: Current Status
and Analysis
Action in the 110th Congress
The CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 (H.R. 6) was introduced by the House
Democratic leadership to revise certain tax and royalty policies for oil and natural gas
and to use the resulting revenue to support a reserve for energy efficiency and
renewable energy. The bill is one of several introduced on behalf of the Democratic
leadership in the House as part of its “100 hours” package of legislative initiatives
conducted early in the 110th Congress.
Title I proposes to repeal certain oil and natural gas tax subsidies, and use the
resulting revenue stream to support the reserve. According to the Congressional
Budget Office (CBO), the provisions in Title I would make about $7.7 billion1
available for the reserve over the 10-year period from 2008 through 2017.
H.R. 6 came to the House floor for debate on January 18, 2007. In the floor
debate, opponents argued that the reduction in oil and natural gas incentives would
dampen production, cause job losses, and lead to higher prices for gasoline and other
fuels. Opponents also complained that the proposal for the Reserve does not identify
specific policies and programs that would receive funding. Proponents of the bill
counterargued that record profits show that the oil and natural gas incentives were not
needed. They also contended that the language that would create the Reserve would
allow it to be used to support a variety of research and development (R&D),
deployment, tax incentives, and other measures for renewables and energy efficiency,
and that the specifics would evolve as legislative proposals come forth to draw
resources from the Reserve. The bill passed the House on January 18 by a vote of

264-123.


Background
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58), enacted on August 8, 2005,
expanded some of the existing tax subsidies for the oil and gas industry and created
several new ones.2 The oil and gas tax incentives in EPACT05 were added on top


1 U.S. Congress. Congressional Budget Office. H.R. 6, CLEAN Energy Act of 2007.
(Letter to Chairman Nick Rahall, Committee on Natural Resources.) Jan. 12, 2007. 4 p.
[ h t t p : / / www.cbo.gov/ f t pdocs/ 77xx/ doc7728/ hr 6pr el i m.pdf ]
2 For a summary and analysis of this law, see CRS Report RL33302, Energy Policy Act of
(continued...)

of several existing special tax subsidies for oil and gas. The industry also benefits
from provisions of current tax law that are not strictly tax subsidies (or tax
expenditures) but that nevertheless provide advantages for and reduce effective tax
rates of the oil and gas industry.
The remainder of this report discusses these tax provisions in detail. The first
section, below, discusses the origin and evolution of the oil and gas tax subsidies that
were incorporated into the 2005 act. The second section summarizes each of the oil
and gas tax subsidy provisions in the 2005 energy act and reports its corresponding
revenue loss estimate. Section three describes other oil and gas tax subsidies, those
that existed before EPACT05 and were generally not affected by it. The final section
describes several tax provisions that benefit the oil and gas industry; these are not tax
subsidies per se — they are not considered to be tax expenditures — but are deemed
by some observers to confer excessive (or unfair) benefits for the industry.
Policy Context and Analysis
Tax incentives for oil and gas supply have historically been an integral (if not
the primary) component of the nation’s energy policy. The domestic oil and gas
industry was granted three tax code preferences, or subsidies: (1) expensing of
intangible drilling costs (IDCs) and dry hole costs, introduced in 1916; (2) the
percentage depletion allowance, first enacted in 1926 (coal was added in 1932); and3
(3) capital gains treatment of the sale of oil and gas properties. These tax subsidies
reduced marginal effective tax rates in the oil and gas industries, reduced production
costs, and increased investments in locating reserves (increased exploration). They
also led to more profitable production, some acceleration of oil and gas production,
and more rapid depletion of energy resources than would otherwise occur. Partially
in response to tax incentives, but also due to the low cost of discovering and
developing the huge new resource base, there were discoveries during the 1930s of
vast reserves in Texas, which led to a period of overproduction of oil and gas and
concomitant declines in prices, which led to demand to prorationing under the Texas
Railroad Commission.4
Beginning in the 1970s and through much of the 1990s, energy tax policy
shifted away from fossil fuel supply and moved toward energy conservation through
both energy efficiency and the development of alternative and renewable fuels.
However, rising and repeated spikes in petroleum prices that began around 2000 and


2 (...continued)
2005: Summary and Analysis of Enacted Provisions. The two-year amortization period was
slowed down to five years for integrated producers under 2006 tax legislation, as discussed
in the text.
3 As discussed later, these subsidies were largely eliminated on much of the oil production
and assets, but other, less significant subsidies — the special exemption from the passive
loss limitation rules and some special tax credits — were added to the tax code.
4 Glasner, David, Politics, Prices, and Petroleum: The Political Economy of Energy, Pacific
Institute for Public Policy Research, 1985, pp. 142-144.

were repeated over the next six years (combined with high and spiking natural gas
prices, an electricity crisis, and blackouts) caused policymakers to focus on
increasing energy production and supply of many diverse energy sources, including
oil and gas.
The tax incentives for the oil and gas industry in the EPACT05 originated in
the106th Congress’s effort in 1999 to help the ailing domestic oil and gas producing
industry, particularly small producers, deal with depressed oil prices. This situation
fostered proposals for economic relief through the tax code, particularly for small
independent drillers and producers. Proposals focused mainly on production tax
credits for marginal or stripper well oil,5 but they also included carry-back provisions
for net operating losses, and other fossil fuel supply provisions.6 Subsequent
comprehensive energy policy legislation, including H.R. 4 in the107th Congress,
proposed an expanded list of oil and gas tax incentives. The energy tax breaks in this
bill (the Securing America’s Future Energy Act of 2001, as approved by the House
on August 1, 2001) were larger in terms of tax revenue loss than any other
comprehensive energy policy legislation proposed during this period. They also were
larger than those proposed in EPACT05: $33.5 billion of energy tax cuts, compared
with the $14.5 billion loss eventually enacted under P.L. 109-58.
Interest in incentives and subsidies was boosted by the belief that much of the
crisis was caused by insufficient domestic production capacity and supply. All the
early bills appeared to be weighted more toward stimulating the supply of
conventional fuels, including capital investment incentives to stimulate production
and transportation of oil and gas. These proposals were further repackaged and
expanded into the first broadly based energy bills and comprehensive energy policy
legislation, such as H.R. 6 in the 109th, that evolved further and ultimately became
EPACT05.7 The House approved the conference report on July 28, 2005, and the
Senate on July 29, 2005, clearing it for the President’s signature on August 8 (P.L.

109-58).


The 2005 act became law at a time of very high prices for crude oil, petroleum
products, and natural gas, and record oil and gas industry profits. This engendered
the enmity of the general public and congressional proposals to (1) revoke the
incentives enacted under the 2005 act; (2) repeal or pare back the historical, but


5 A stripper well is one that produces small quantities of oil and natural gas. The tax law
currently defines this limit as 15 barrels of oil or the equivalent amount of natural gas per
day; the oil and gas industry defines it 10 barrels per day or less.
6 Although no tax bill was passed that reduced taxes on oil and gas, the 106th Congress did
enact a package of $500 million in loan guarantees for small independent producers, which
became law (P.L. 106-51), in August 1999.
7 After some existing energy tax incentives expired in 2003, the 108th Congress enacted
retroactive extension of several of the provisions as part of the Working Families Tax Relief
Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-311). That law, which reduced revenues by about $1.3 billion over
10 years, was enacted on October 4, 2004. About $5 billion in energy tax incentives — both
expansion or liberalization of some of the more popular energy tax provisions, as well as
some new energy tax incentives — were part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004
(P.L. 108-357) enacted on October 22, 2004.

extant, tax subsidies and other tax advantages; and (3) impose sizeable new taxes on
the industry such as a windfall profit tax.8
Public and congressional outcry did lead to a paring back of one of the tax
subsidies liberalized in the 2005 act: two-year amortization, rather than
capitalization, of geological and geophysical (G&G) activity costs, including those
associated with abandoned wells (dry holes).9 This exploration subsidy was the
largest upstream tax subsidy (as opposed to a “downstream” or a refinery subsidy),
in terms of federal revenue loss, enacted under the 2005 act, although it was and still
is a relatively small tax subsidy. The Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act
(P.L. 109-222), signed into law in May 2006, reduced the value of the subsidy by
raising the amortization period for major integrated oil companies from two years to
five years, still faster than the capitalization treatment before the 2005 act, but slower
than the treatment under that act. Independent (nonintegrated) oil companies may
continue to amortize all G&G costs over two years.
This relatively minor cutback has not muted the calls for rolling back oil and gas
tax subsidies, as petroleum prices (and industry profits) remain somewhat high,
particularly those of the biggest oil and gas companies. On September 1, 2006, the
House Democratic leadership reportedly sent a letter to the House Speaker proposing
a rollback of all of the 2005 energy act tax subsidies.10 On October 25, 2006, then-
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, urged the Congress to repeal those tax
breaks.
Many bills were introduced in the 109th Congress to pare back or repeal the oil
and gas industry tax subsidies and other loopholes. Many of the bills focused on the
oil and gas exploration and development (E&D) subsidy — expensing of intangible
drilling costs (IDCs). This subsidy, which has been in existence since the early days
of the income tax, is available to integrated and independent oil and gas companies,
both large and small alike.11 It is an exploration and development incentive, which
allows the immediate tax write-off of what economically are capital costs, that is, the
costs of creating a capital asset (the oil and gas well). On September 18, 2006,
Senators Wyden and Bennett introduced a bill (S. 3908) to give consumers a discount
on the purchase of more fuel efficient vehicles that would have been paid for by
reducing the IDCs deduction for major integrated oil companies. Comprehensive
energy legislation (S. 2829) unveiled by Senate Democrats on May 17, 2006, would
have not only eliminated expensing of IDCs, but would have also reduced several
other tax benefits (or loopholes) to the oil and gas industry (such the foreign tax


8 For an analysis of the windfall profit tax, see CRS Report RL33305, The Crude Oil
Windfall Profits Tax of the 1980s: Implications for Current Energy Policy, by Salvatore
Lazzari.
9 Prior to the 2005 act, G&G costs for dry holes were expensed in the first year and
capitalized for successful wells.
10 Bureau of National Affairs, Daily Tax Report. House Democratic Leadership Letter to
Speaker Hastert Asking for Rollback of Tax Breaks for Oil Companies, Sept. 5, 2006.
11 As discussed below, many of the remaining tax subsidies are available only to
independent oil and gas producers, which, however, may be very large.

credits). The latter are not subsidies (or tax expenditures) in the strict sense of
special tax measures unavailable generally, but as discussed below, some consider
these unnecessary tax benefits nonetheless.12 H.R. 5234 focused on repealing three
of the seven fossil fuel tax provisions in the 2005 act: temporary expensing of
equipment costs for crude oil refining, the small refiner exception to percentage
depletion, and the amortization of geological and geophysical (G&G) costs. H.R.
5218 would have denied oil and gas companies the new domestic manufacturing
deduction under IRC § 199.
There is speculation that in the 110th Congress, the Democratic leadership in
both the House and Senate will begin to examine these breaks more closely,
particularly because many of their legislative priorities (such as cutting back the
increasingly heavy burden of the alternative minimum tax) will have to be paid for.13
Oil and Gas Tax Provisions in EPACT05 and their
Revenue Effects
EPACT05 included a plethora of spending, tax, and deregulatory incentives to
stimulate the production of conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas, such
as gas from Alaska, deep water oil and gas in the outer continental shelf, and oil from
marginal wells or private and federal lands. These incentives include tax breaks,
royalty relief, streamlined permitting procedures, and other measures. The tax
incentives include approximately $14.5 billion over 11 years of incentives to both
stimulate domestic production and distribution of fossil fuels and reduce the demand
for these fuels through energy efficiency and production of alternative and renewable
fuels.
Title XIII, subtitle B, of EPACT05 includes the tax incentives for fossil fuel
supply — for production, transportation, and distribution — of oil and gas, as well
as capital incentives for expanded refinery capacity. The subtitle does not include
coal supply incentives, which are subsumed in the electricity infrastructure subtitle.
Although many of the oil and gas tax incentives in EPACT05 are production tax
credits and other such “upstream” production incentives, some are capital incentives
for natural gas infrastructure (accelerated depreciation of natural gas pipelines). In
total, the tax incentives alone are worth about $2.6 billion over 11 years to the
industry (an average of about $250 million a year in tax breaks).14


12 There is an important economic distinction between a subsidy and a tax benefit. As is
discussed elsewhere in this report, firms receive a variety of tax benefits that are not
necessarily targeted subsidies (or tax expenditures) because they are available generally.
13 McKinnon, John D. “Are Higher Taxes in the Offing?” The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 30,
2006, p. A-6; Bureau of National Affairs, “Menu of Proposals Available to Democrats
Looking to Roll Back Oil, Energy Tax Breaks,” Daily Tax Report, Nov. 14, 2006, p. G-2.
14 These are CRS compilations based on Joint Committee on Taxation estimates. See U.S.
Congress, Joint Committee on Taxation, Estimated Budget Effects of the Conference
Agreement for Title XIII of H.R. 6, The “Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005,” July 27, 2005,
(continued...)

Subtitle B, thus, applies specifically to the oil and gas industry, including the
refinery industry, for increased supply incentives. Tax incentives are provided —
again mostly by liberalization of existing tax code provisions. The incentives are
both production incentives (i.e., tax benefits are based on quantities of oil and gas)
and capital incentives (i.e., tax benefits are based on magnitude of capital investment,
such as pipelines). Both unconventional and conventional oil and gas supply are
targeted for tax cuts.
Amortization of Geological and Geophysical Expenditures
Firms engaged in the exploration and development (E&D) of oil and gas incur
a variety of costs prior to actual extraction. The tax treatment of these “upstream”
E&D costs differs depending on the specific type of activity and depending on
whether they are incurred by an integrated or nonintegrated (i.e., independent)
producer. An independent producer is defined by Internal Revenue Code (IRC) §

613A(d), as described below.


E&D costs may be generally categorized as four types. First, there are the
geological and geophysical costs (G&G). These are exploratory costs (such as for
seismic surveys) associated with determining the precise location and potential size
of a mineral deposit. A second type of cost is the mineral acquisition or lease rights
expenses — the costs of buying or leasing the land under which deposits are thought
to exist — such as lease bonuses.
If a property is considered prospective for containing economically recoverable
deposits of oil or gas, the firm drills exploratory (and, if successful, subsequently
development) wells to ascertain the magnitude of the deposits. These activities have
associated various types of drilling costs. Tangible drilling costs, the third type of
E&D costs, are amounts paid for tangible drilling and nondrilling equipment such as
drilling rigs, casings, valves, pipelines, and other tangible machinery and equipment
that have a salvage value. Finally, there are intangible drilling costs, or IDCs as they
are frequently called. IDCs are amounts paid by the lease operator for fuel, labor,
repairs to drilling equipment, materials, hauling, and supplies. They are expenditures
incident to and necessary for the drilling of wells and preparing a site for production
of oil and gas. For example, roads may have to be constructed to move in derricks
and other types of drilling equipment; often a camp may have to be built with
residences to house employees. The power for the equipment and the water supplies
are also IDCs. IDCs also may include the cost to operators of any exploratory
drilling or development work done by contractors under any form of contract,
including a turnkey contract.
In general, as noted above, prior to EPACT05, all four types of costs — G&G
costs, mineral rights, tangible equipment, and intangible drilling costs — associated
with a dry hole were expensable (i.e., deductible in the year in which the well was
determined to be dry). Under the 2005 act, both integrated and independent
producers were required to amortize the G&G component of the dry hole costs over


14 (...continued)
JCX-59-05.

two years. This reduced the incentive for G&Gs associated with a dry hole but
increased the incentive for G&Gs associated with most successful wells. This
provision became effective for G&G amounts paid or incurred in taxable years
beginning after the date of enactment.
Two-year amortization of G&G costs is still allowed for independent producers,
but as a result of a provision in the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act
(P.L. 109-222, enacted in May 2006), integrated producers must now amortize such
costs over five years.15 Amortization means that the costs are deducted evenly — the
same absolute dollars are taken as deductions every year over a specified period of
time, in this case two or five years. It is also called straight-line depreciation.16
Determination of Independent Producer Status for Purposes
of the Oil Depletion Deduction
Firms that extract oil, gas, or other minerals are permitted a deduction to recover
their capital investment in a mineral reserve, which depreciates due to physical and
economic depletion or exhaustion as the mineral is recovered (IRC § 611).
Depletion, like depreciation, is a form of capital recovery: an asset, the mineral
reserve itself, is being expended to produce income. Under the income tax, such a
loss in value or cost is deductible.
There are two methods of calculating this deduction: cost depletion and
percentage depletion. Cost depletion allows for the recovery of the actual capital
investment — the costs of discovering, purchasing, and developing a mineral reserve.
Each year, and over the period during which the reserve produces income, the
taxpayer deducts a portion of the adjusted basis (original capital investment less
previous deductions) equal to the fraction of the estimated remaining recoverable
reserves that have been extracted and sold. Under this method, the total deductions
cannot exceed the original capital investment.
Under percentage depletion, the deduction for recovery of capital investment is
a fixed percentage as set by law of the “gross income” (i.e., revenue) from the sale
of the mineral. Under this method, total deductions typically exceed, despite the
limitations, the capital invested to acquire and develop the reserve.
IRC § 613 states that mineral producers must claim the higher of cost or
percentage depletion. The percentage depletion rate for oil and gas is 15% and is
limited to average daily production of 1,000 barrels of oil, or its equivalent in gas.
For producers of both oil and gas, the limit applies on a combined basis. For
example, an oil-producing company with 2006 oil production of 100,000 barrels and
natural gas production of 1.2 billion cubic feet (the statutory equivalent of 200,000
barrels of oil) has average daily production of 821.92 barrels (300,000 ÷ 365 days).


15 The 2006 amendment constitutes a reduction in the tax benefits and was part of the
compromise for allowing the G&G costs of successful wells to be amortized over two years
rather than capitalized.
16 The term amortization is also used in tax parlance as referring to the depreciation of
intangible property, such as patents and copyrights.

Percentage depletion is not available to integrated major oil companies; it is available
only for independent producers and royalty owners.
Beginning in 1990, the percentage depletion rate was raised on production from
marginal wells — oil from stripper wells (those producing no more than 15 barrels
per day, on average) and heavy oil. This rate starts at 15% and increases by one
percentage point for each whole $1 that the reference price of oil for the previous
calendar year is less than $20 per barrel (subject to a maximum rate of 25%). This
higher rate is also limited to independent producers and royalty owners, and for up
to 1,000 barrels, determined as before on a combined basis (including non-marginal
production). Small independents operate nearly 400,000 small stripper wells in about

28 states, about 78% of the nearly 510,000 producing wells in the United States.


Output from stripper wells represented about 16% of total domestic production
(about 850,000 barrels per day) in the United States in 2004.17
The percentage depletion deduction is limited to 65% of the taxable income
from all properties for each producer. A second limitation, the 100% net-income
limitation, which applied to each individual property rather than to all the properties,
was retroactively suspended for oil and gas production from marginal wells by the
Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-311) through December 31,

2005. The 100% net-income limitation also had been suspended from 1998 to 2003.


The difference between percentage depletion and cost depletion is considered a
subsidy. It was once a tax preference item for purposes of the alternative minimum
tax, but this was repealed by the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-486).
The percentage depletion allowance is available for other types of fuel minerals,
at rates ranging from 10% (coal, lignite) to 22% (uranium), and for mined hard rock
minerals. The rate for regulated natural gas and gas sold under a fixed contract is
22%; the rate for geo-pressurized methane gas is 10%. Oil shale and geothermal
deposits qualify for a 15% allowance. The net-income limitation to percentage
depletion for coal and other fuels is 50%, compared with 100% for oil and gas.
Under code section 291, percentage depletion on coal mined by corporations is
reduced by 20% of the excess of percentage over cost depletion.
For purposes of percentage depletion, before EPACT05, an independent oil
producer was one that, on any given day, (1) did not refine more than 50,000 barrels
of oil and (2) did not have a retail operation grossing more than $5 million a year
(IRC § 613A[d]). EPACT05 raised the 50,000 barrel daily limit to 75,000. In
addition, the act changed the refinery limitation from actual daily production to
average daily production for the taxable year. Accordingly, the average daily refinery
runs for the taxable year may not exceed 75,000 barrels. For this purpose, the
taxpayer would calculate average daily refinery runs by dividing total refinery runs
for the taxable year by the total number of days in the taxable year. This is effective
for taxable years ending after the date of enactment.


17 Both the number of stripper wells and oil output from such wells is reported in American
Petroleum Institute, Basic Petroleum Data Book, vol. 26, no. 2, (section IV, table 3), August

2006.



Natural Gas Distribution Lines Treated as 15-Year Property
For purposes of determining the depreciation deduction, EPACT05 established
a 15-year recovery period for natural gas distribution lines. Prior to this amendment,
natural gas distribution lines were assigned a 20-year recovery period. This
provisions is effective for property, the original use of which begins with the taxpayer
after April 11, 2005, which is placed in service after April 11, 2005, and before
January 1, 2011, and does not apply to property subject to a binding contract on or
before April 11, 2005.
Temporary Expensing for Equipment Used in Oil Refining
Before the enactment of EPACT05, depreciation rules (the Modified
Accelerated Cost Recovery System, MACRS) required oil refinery assets to be
depreciated over 10 years using the double declining balance method.18 Under the
2005 act, refineries are allowed to irrevocably elect to expense 50% of the cost of
qualified refinery property, with no limitation on the amount of the deduction. This
provision was enacted to increase investments in existing refineries so as to increase
petroleum product output and reduce prices.
The expensing deduction is allowed in the taxable year in which the refinery is
placed in service. The remaining 50% of the cost remains eligible for regular cost
recovery provisions. To qualify for the deduction (1) original use of the property
must commence with the taxpayer; (2)(a) construction must be pursuant to a binding
construction contract entered into after June 14, 2005, and before January 1, 2008,
(b) in the case of self-constructed property, construction began after June 14, 2005,
and before January 1, 2008, or (c) the refinery is placed in service before January 1,
2008; (3) the property must be placed in service before January 1, 2012; (4) the
property must meet certain production capacity requirements if it is an addition to an
existing refinery; and (5) the property must meet all applicable environmental laws
when placed in service. Certain types of refineries, including asphalt plants, are not
eligible for the deduction, and there is a special rule for sale-leasebacks of qualifying
refineries. If the owner of the refinery is a cooperative, it may elect to allocate all or
a part of the deduction to the cooperative owners, allocated on the basis of ownership
interests. This provision is effective for qualifying refineries placed in service after
date of enactment (i.e., it became effective on August 9, 2005).
Arbitrage Rules Not To Apply to Prepayments for Natural Gas
EPACT05 creates a safe harbor exception to the general rule that tax-exempt,
bond-financed prepayments violate the tax code’s arbitrage restrictions. The term
investment-type property does not include a prepayment under a qualified natural gas
supply contract. The act also provides that such prepayments are not treated as
private loans for purposes of the private business tests. Thus, a prepayment financed
with tax-exempt bond proceeds for the purpose of obtaining a supply of natural gas


18 Under the double declining balance method of calculating depreciation deductions, the
annual deduction is a fixed percentage (200% or double the straight-line rate) of the
difference between asset cost and prior year depreciation deductions.

for service area customers of a governmental utility would not be treated as the
acquisition of investment-type property. The safe harbor provisions do not apply if
the utility engages in intentional acts to render (1) the volume of natural gas covered
by the prepayment to be in excess of that needed for retail natural gas consumption
and (2) the amount of natural gas that is needed to fuel transportation of the natural
gas to the governmental utility. This provision is effective for obligations issued
after date of enactment.
Natural Gas Gathering Lines Treated as Seven-Year Property
Under tax law prior to the enactment of EPACT05, the recovery period for
natural gas gathering lines could be either 7 or 15 years, depending on whether they
were classified as production or transportation equipment. Several court cases
reflected the ambiguous tax treatment. Natural gas pipelines had a recovery period
of 15 years, whereas natural gas distribution lines had a recovery period of 20 years
(which, as noted above, was reduced to 15 years). EPACT05 assigned natural gas
gathering lines a seven-year recovery period for MACRS depreciation deductions.
EPACT05 defined a natural gas gathering line as the pipe, equipment, and
appurtenances determined to be a gathering line by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) or used to deliver natural gas from the well-head or common
point to the point at which the gas first reaches (1) a gas processing plant, (2) an
interconnection with an interstate transmission line, (3) an interconnection with an
intrastate transmission pipeline, or (4) a direct connection with a local distribution
company, a gas storage facility, or an industrial consumer. Also, the act requires that
the original use of the property begin with the taxpayer. This provision became
effective for property placed in service after April 11, 2005, excluding property with
respect to which the taxpayer or related party had a binding acquisition contract on
or before April 11, 2005.
Pass Through to Owners of Deduction for Capital Costs
Incurred by Small Refiner Cooperatives in Complying with
EPA Sulfur Regulations
IRC § 45H allows a small refiner to claim a tax credit for the production of low-
sulfur diesel fuel that is in compliance with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
sulfur regulations (the Highway Diesel Fuel Sulfur Control Requirements). The
credit is $2.10 per barrel of low-sulfur diesel fuel produced; it is limited to 25% of
the capital costs incurred by the refiner to produce the low-sulfur diesel fuel. The
25% limit is phased out proportionately as a refiner’s capacity increases from

155,000 to 205,000 barrels per day.


Section 179B allows a small refiner to also claim a current year tax deduction
(i.e., expensing), in lieu of depreciation, for up to 75% of the capital costs incurred
in producing low-sulfur diesel fuel that is in compliance with EPA sulfur regulations.
This incentive is also prorated for refining capacity between 155,000 and 205,000
barrels per day. The taxpayer’s basis in the property that receives the exemption is
reduced by the amount of the production tax credit. In the case of a refinery



organized as a cooperative, both the credit and the expensing deduction may be
passed through to patrons.
For both incentives, a small business refiner is a taxpayer who (1) is in the
business of refining petroleum products, (2) employs not more than 1,500 employees
directly in refining, and (3) has less than 205,000 barrels per day (averaged over the
year) of total refining capacity. The incentives took effect retroactively beginning on
January 1, 2003.
EPACT05 provided that cooperative refineries that qualify for § 179B
expensing of capital costs incurred in complying with EPA sulfur regulations could
elect to allocate all or part of the deduction to their owners, determined on the basis
of their ownership interests. The election is made on an annual basis and is
irrevocable once made. The provision became effective as if included in § 338(a) of
the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which introduced the tax credit.
Modification and Extension of Credit for Producing Fuel from
a Nonconventional Source for Facilities Producing Coke or
Coke Gas19
Section 45K of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) provides for a production tax
credit of $3 per barrel of oil-equivalent (in 1979 dollars) for certain types of liquid,
gaseous, and solid fuels produced from selected types of alternative energy sources
(so-called “non-conventional fuels”) and sold to unrelated parties. The full credit is
available if oil prices fall below $23.50 per barrel (in 1979 dollars); the credit is
phased out as oil prices rise above $23.50 (in 1979 dollars) over a $6 range (i.e., the
inflation-adjusted $23.50 plus $6).
Both the credit and the phase-out ranges are adjusted for inflation (multiplied
by an inflation adjustment factor) since 1979. With an inflation adjustment factor of

2.264 (meaning that prices, as measured by the Gross Domestic Product deflator,


have more than doubled since 1979), the credit for 2005 production was $6.79 per
barrel of oil equivalent, which is the amount of the qualifying fuel that has a British
Thermal Unit (Btu) content of 5.8 million. The credit for gaseous fuels was $1.23
per thousand cubic feet (mcf). The credit for tight sands gas is not indexed to
inflation; it is fixed at the 1979 level of $3 per barrel of oil equivalent (about $0.50
per mcf). In 2005, the reference price of oil, which was $50.76 per barrel, still below
the inflation adjustment phase-out threshold oil price of $53.20 for 2005 ($23.50
multiplied by 2.264), the full credit of $6.56 per barrel of equivalent was available
for qualifying fuels.


19 Two of the nine special tax subsidies for oil and gas in EPACT05 were for unconventional
gases and synfuels from coal under the § 45K tax credit. These provisions are discussed
because the § 45K tax credit has been important to the development of unconventional gases
such as coalbed methane and tight sands gas. However, its revenue losses are subsumed
under the coal category of Table 1 largely because in recent years the provision has
benefitted primarily the coal industry by increasing the demand for coal.

Qualifying fuels include synthetic fuels (liquid, gaseous, and solid) produced
from coal, and gas produced from either geopressurized brine, Devonian shale, tight
formations, or biomass. To qualify for the credit, synthetic fuels from coal must
undergo a significant chemical transformation, defined as a measurable and
reproducible change in the chemical bonding of the initial components. In most
cases, producers apply a liquid bonding agent to the coal or coal waste (coal fines),
such as diesel fuel emulsions, pine tar, or latex, to produce a solid synthetic fuel. The
coke made from coal and used as a feedstock, or raw material, in steel-making
operations also qualifies as a synthetic fuel, as does the breeze (small pieces of coke)
and the coke gas (produced during the coking process). Depending on the precise
Btu content of these synfuels, the § 45K tax credit could be as high as $26 per ton or
more, which is a significant fraction of the market price of coal. Qualifying fuels
must be produced within the United States. The credit for coke and coke gas is also
$3 per barrel of oil equivalent and is also adjusted for inflation, but the credit is set
to a base year of 2004, making the nominal unadjusted tax credit less than for other
fuels.
The section 45K credit for gas produced from biomass, and synthetic fuels
produced from coal or lignite, is available through December 31, 2007, provided that
the production facility was placed in service before July 1, 1998, pursuant to a
binding contract entered into before January 1, 1997. The credit for coke and coke
gas is available through December 31, 2009, for plants placed in service before
January 1, 1992, and after June 30, 1998. The section 45K credit used to apply to oil
produced from shale or tar sands, and coalbed methane (a colorless and odorless
natural gas that permeates coal seams and that is virtually identical to conventional
natural gas). However, the credit for these fuels terminated on December 31, 2002
(and the facilities had to have been placed in service, or wells drilled, by December

31, 1992).


The section 45K credit is part of the general business credit. It is not claimed
separately; it is added together with several other business credits and is also subject
to the limitations of that credit. The section 45K credit is offset (or reduced) by
certain other types of government subsidies that a taxpayer may benefit from:
government grants, subsidized or tax-exempt financing, energy investment credits,
and the enhanced oil recovery tax credit that may be claimed with respect to such
projects. Finally, the credit is nonrefundable and cannot be used to offset a
taxpayer’s alternative minimum tax liability. Any unused section 45K credits
generally may not be carried forward or back to another taxable year. (However,
under the minimum tax section 53, a taxpayer receives a credit for prior-year
minimum tax liability to the extent that a section 45K credit is disallowed as a result
of the operation of the alternative minimum tax.)
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 made several amendments to the section 45K
tax credit. First, the credit’s provisions were moved from § 29 of the tax code to new
§ 45K. Before this, this credit was commonly known as the “section 29 credit.”
Second, the credit was made available for qualified facilities that produce coke or
coke gas that were placed in service before January 1, 1993, or after June 30, 1998,
and before January 1, 2010. Coke and coke gas produced and sold during the period
beginning on the later of January 1, 2006, or the date the facility is placed in service,
and ending on the date which is four years after such period begins, are eligible for



the production credit, but at a reduced rate and only for a limited quantity of fuel.
The tax credit for coke and coke gas is $3.00 per barrel of oil equivalent, but the
credit is indexed for inflation starting with a 2004 base year, compared with a 1979
base year for other fuels. A facility producing coke or coke gas and receiving a tax
credit under the previous § 29 rules is not eligible to claim the credit under the new
section 45K. The new provision also requires that the amount of credit-eligible coke
produced not exceed an average barrel-of-oil equivalent of 4,000 barrels per day.
Third, the 2005 act provided that with respect to the IRS moratorium on
taxpayer-specific guidance concerning the credit, the IRS should consider issuing
rulings and guidance on an expedited basis to those taxpayers who had pending
ruling requests at the time that the IRS implemented the moratorium. Finally, the

2005 legislation made the general business limitations applicable to the tax credit.


Any unused credits can be carried back one year and forward 20 years, except that
the credit cannot be carried back to a taxable year ending before January 1, 2006.
These new rules were made effective for fuel produced and sold after December 31,

2005, in taxable years ending after that date.


Revenue Effects
Table 1 shows the revenue effects of the tax provisions in EPACT05, organized
by type of incentive. These are the original revenue effects estimated for EPACT05,
signed into law on August 8, 2005, by the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT).
Because of changes to energy prices, energy markets, and general economic
conditions, revenue loss estimates of the same provisions calculated today would
most likely differ from those original estimates.
JCT’s estimated revenue losses were projected over an 11-year time frame, from
FY2005 to FY2015. The total revenue losses are reported in two ways: the absolute
dollar value of tax cuts over 11 years, and the percentage distribution of total revenue
losses by type of incentive. Each of the seven tax subsidies for the oil and gas
industry are shown separately, as well as the aggregate for upstream (exploration,
development, and production) operations and downstream operations (refining and
transportation/distribution). Also, for perspective, the oil and gas tax revenue losses
are compared with those for other industries and with the tax subsidies for energy
efficiency and alternative/renewable fuels.



Table 1. Energy Tax Provisions in the Energy Tax Act of 2005
(P.L. 109-58): 11-Year Estimated Revenue Loss,
by Type of Incentive
Amo unt
($ millions)Percentage
INCENTIVES FOR FOSSIL FUELS SUPPLY
(1) Oil & Gas Production:-1,1327.8%
a) amortize all G&G costs over 2 years-974
b) liberalize the definition of independent producer-158
(2) Oil & Gas Refining and Distribution:-1,50110.4%
a) gas pipelines treated as 15-year property-1,019
b) temporary expensing in refining of liquid fuels-406
c) exempt prepayment of natural gas from arbitrage-53
d) gas gathering lines treated as 7-year property-16
e) expensing for coop refinery of low-sulfur diesel-7
(3) Coal-2,94820.4%
(4) Subtotal-5,58138.6%
ELECTRICITY RESTRUCTURING PROVISIONS
(5) Nuclear-1,57110.9%
(6) Other-1,54910.7%
(7) Subtotal-3,12021.6%
INCENTIVES FOR EFFICIENCY, RENEWABLES, AND ALTERNATIVE FUELS
(8) Energy Efficiency-1,2608.7%
(9) Renewable Energy & Alternative Fuels-4,50031.1%
(10) Subtotal-5,76039.8%
(11) Net Energy Tax Cuts-14,461100.0%
(12) Non Energy Tax Cutsa-92
(13) Total Energy and Non-Energy Tax Cuts-14,553
(14) Energy Tax Increasesb+2,857
(15) Other Tax Increases171
(15) NET TAX CUTS-11,525
Source: CRS compilation based on Joint Committee of Taxation estimates.
a. The act includes a provision to expand R&D for all energy activities. This provision is listed as
a non energy tax cut to simplify the table.
b. Energy tax increases comprise the oil spill liability tax and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank
financing rate, both of which are imposed on oil refineries. If these taxes are subtracted from
the tax subsidies (row 2), the oil and gas refinery and distribution sector received a net tax
increase of $1,356 ($2,857-$1,501).



The JCT estimates that the 2005 act provides about $2.6 billion in tax cuts for
the oil and gas industry as a whole over 11 years, comprising about $1.1 billion for
upstream operations and $1.5 billion for downstream, or refining and distribution,
operations. For energy conservation and efficiency, the 2005 act provides about $1.3
billion, including a deduction for energy-efficient commercial property, fuel cells,
and micro-turbines. Renewables incentives include a two-year extension of the tax
code § 45 credit, renewable energy bonds, and business credits for solar. The total
renewable tax subsidies in EPACT05 were about $4.5 billion.
Although the above oil and gas tax subsidies may not be justified based on
economic theory, and considering the high oil and gas prices over much of the policy
period, they are not large when measured relative to the industries’ gross product,
which measures in the hundreds of billions of dollars.20 Another misconception is
that industry was the beneficiary of many and significant tax breaks before these
provisions were enacted. The industry did benefit historically from significant tax
subsidies; however, most of these had been either eliminated or pared back since the

1970s.


Tax Increases
Subtitle F of EPACT05 describes the four tax increases or revenue offsets. Two
of the tax increases — modification of the § 197 amortization, and an increase in the
excise taxes on tires — are negligible, raising taxes by just under an estimated $200
million over 11 years. However, the other two are sizeable tax increases for the oil
and gas industry: reinstatement of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and extension of
the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) trust fund rate, which would be
expanded to all fuels.
The total oil and gas industry tax increases are roughly $2.8 billion over 11
years, for a net increase in taxes on the industry of about $200 million, according to
the JCT estimates. However, because the oil spill liability tax and the Leaking
Underground Storage Tank financing taxes are excise taxes on oil and petroleum
products, and are imposed on oil refineries, the net effect of the 2005 act on the oil
and gas refinery sector was a tax increase of about $1.3 billion over 11 years.
Other Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 expanded some (but not all) of the preexisting
tax subsidies for oil and gas and introduced several new ones. Thus, some of the
recent proposals to roll back tax subsidies to oil and gas focus on the subsidies that
were in effect before the 2005 act, and which continue be in effect.


20 For the economic theory of taxation of exhaustible natural resources, see CRS Report
RL30406, Energy Tax Policy: An Economic Analysis, by Salvatore Lazzari.

Other Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies
A list of the preexisting federal tax subsidies (incentives) available for the U.S.
oil and gas industry — those in effect before EPACT05 and still in effect today —
(and their corresponding revenue loss estimates) appears in Table 2. The
corresponding revenue losses, as estimated by the JCT in its latest tax expenditures
compendium, appear in the last column.21 Note that the table defines tax subsidies
or incentives targeted for the oil and gas industry as those that are due to provisions
in the tax law that apply only to this industry and not to others.


21 U.S. Congress, Joint Committee Print, Estimates of Federal Tax Expenditures for Fiscal
Years 2006-2010, prepared for the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate
Committee on Finance by the Joint Committee on Taxation Staff, Apr. 25, 2006.

CRS-17
Table 2. Special Tax Incentives Targeted for the Oil and Gas Industry and
Estimated Revenue Losses, FY2006
Original EnactingFederal Revenue
Legislation/Losses
CategoryProvisionMajor LimitationsRegulationFY2006($ millions)
ensing of IntangibleFirms engaged in the exploration andIntegrated oil/gas corporations may expense only1916 Treasury1,100a
g Costs (IDCs) anddevelopment of oil or gas properties may70% of IDCs; the remaining 30% must be amortizedRegulation T.D. 45,
ortization of Explorationexpense (deduct in the year paid orand all of the excess IDCs over the 10-yeararticle 223
evelopment Expensesincurred) rather than capitalize certain typesamortizable amount are subject to the alternative
of drilling expenditures. Geological andminimum tax.
iki/CRS-RL33763geophysical expenses paid or incurred inconnection with the domestic exploration
g/wfor, or development of, oil or gas can be
s.oramortized ratably (evenly) over five years.
leakcentage DepletionFirms that extract oil or gas are permitted toPercentage depletion is available only forRevenue Act of 19261,000
://wikiwancededuct 15% of sales (up to 25% for marginalwells depending on oil prices) to recoverindependent producers (and royalty owners) andonly up to 1,000 barrels or equivalent per day; it is
httptheir capital investment in a mineral reserve.limited to 100% of the net income from any
individual property and to 65% of the taxable
income from all properties for each producer.
tives for Small Refiners toIRC § 45H allows a small refiner to claim aCredit limited to 25% of capital costs; expensingP.L. 108-35750b


ply with EPA Sulfur$2.10 credit per barrel of low-sulfur dieselphases out for refining capacity of 155,000-205,000
ationsproduced that complies with EPA sulfurbarrels per day.
regulations. IRC§ 179B allows a small
refiner to expense, in lieu of depreciation, up
to 75% of the capital costs incurred in
producing low-sulfur diesel fuel that is in
compliance with EPA sulfur regulations.

CRS-18
Original EnactingFederal Revenue
Legislation/Losses
CategoryProvisionMajor LimitationsRegulationFY2006($ millions)
edits for Enhanced OilIRC § 43 provides for a 15% income taxThe EOR credit is nonrefundable and is allowableP.L. 101-5080
overy Costs credit for the costs of recovering domesticprovided that the average wellhead price of crude oil
oil by qualifiedenhanced oil recovery(using West Texas Intermediate as the reference), in
(EOR) methods, to extract oil that is toothe year before credit is claimed, is below the
viscous to be extracted by conventionalstatutorily established threshold price of $28 (as
primary and secondary water-floodingadjusted for inflation since 1990), in the year the
techniques.credit is claimed. With average wellhead oil prices
for 2005 (about $65) well above the reference price
(about $38) the EOR credit was not available.
iki/CRS-RL33763inal Production Tax CreditA $3 tax credit is provided per barrel of oilThe credit phases out as oil prices rise from $15 toP.L. 108-3570
g/w($0.50/thousand cubic feet [mcf]) of gas$18 per barrel (and as gas prices rise from $1.67 to
s.orfrom marginal wells, and for heavy oil.$2.00/thousand cubic feet), adjusted for inflation.
leakThe credit is limited to 25 barrels per day or
equivalent amount of gas and to 1,095 barrels per
://wikiyear or equivalent. Credit may be carried back up to
httpfive years. At 2005 oil and gas prices, the marginalproduction tax credit was not available.
Joint Tax Committee estimates and Internal Revenue Service data.
he revenue loss estimate excludes the benefit of expensing costs of dry tracts and dry holes, which includes expensing some things that would otherwise be capitalized. This is
a normal feature of the tax code but confers special benefits on an industry where the cost of finding producing wells includes spending money on a lot that turn out dry. The
revenue loss estimates also include revenue losses associated with the passive loss limitation rule exemption for the oil and gas industry.
he JCT reports this revenue loss at less than $50 million but does not report the actual figure.



General Tax Provisions that May Benefit the Oil and
Gas Industry
This discussion has so far excluded current-law tax provisions and incentives
that may apply to non-oil and gas businesses but that may also confer tax benefits to
the oil and gas industry. There are numerous such provisions in the tax code, which
some have called loopholes — they are not strictly considered to be tax expenditures.
A complete listing of them is beyond the scope of this report; however, four
examples, which have been under discussion as possible revenue raisers, follow to
illustrate the point.
For example, the current system of depreciation generally allows the writeoff
of equipment and structures somewhat faster than would be the case under both
general accounting principles and economic theory; the JCT treats the excess of
depreciation deductions over the alternative depreciation system as a tax subsidy (or
tax expenditure). In FY2006, the JCT estimates that the aggregate economy-wide
revenue loss from this accelerated depreciation deduction (including the expensing
under IRC § 179) is $6.7 billion. A certain, but unknown, fraction of this revenue
loss or tax benefit accrues to the domestic oil and gas industry, but separate estimates
are unavailable.
A second example is the deduction for domestic production (or manufacturing)
activities under IRC § 199, which, as noted above is the target of H.R. 5218 (109th
Congress). Enacted under the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-357,
also known as the JOBS bill), the domestic production deduction (IRC § 199)
generally allows taxpayers to receive a deduction based on qualified production
activities income resulting from domestic production. The deduction is 3% of
income for 2006, rising to 6% between 2007 and 2009, and 9% thereafter; it is
subject to a limit of 50% of the wages paid that are allocable to domestic production
during the taxable year. The revenue impact of this provision is anticipated by the
JCT to be a loss of $4.8 billion of federal revenue in FY2007, and $76 billion over
the first 10 years of its life. A certain (as yet unknown) fraction of the tax benefits
from the deduction will accrue to the domestic oil and gas industry. The deduction
applies to oil and gas or any primary product thereof, provided that such product was
“manufactured, produced, or extracted in whole or in significant part in the United
States.” Recently, the JCT estimated the revenues that would be gained by repealing
this deduction for the domestic oil and gas industry at about $0.2 billion in FY2007,
and about $2 billion from FY2007-FY2012.22
A third example concerns the “last-in/first-out” (LIFO) system of inventory
accounting under IRC § 472. This method values the goods sold as the most recent
inventory purchase. During a period of rising prices, this method of inventory
accounting increases production costs and reduces taxable income and tax liabilities.
A provision in the Senate version of H.R. 4297 (109th Congress) would have
eliminated a portion of the tax benefits from LIFO inventory accounting for major


22 U.S. Congress, Joint Committee on Taxation, JCT Cost Estimate for McDermott-Kerry
Legislation (H.R. 5218, S. 2672) to Eliminate Oil Company Eligibility for JOBS Act Section

199 Tax Breaks, May 10, 2006.



integrated oil companies with gross receipts in excess of $1 billion. Under threat of
presidential veto, this provision, which would have increased taxes on such
companies by an estimated $3.5 billion in FY2006, was deleted from the final law,
the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-222).23
A fourth example is the foreign tax credit, which is a federal tax credit against
U.S. tax liabilities for income taxes paid to foreign countries. This section of the tax
code is intended to prevent the double taxation of foreign source income (income
earned abroad by U.S. residents and corporations). However, many countries in
which domestic U.S. oil companies conduct business (either through branches or
foreign subsidiaries) impose levies that are not strictly considered to be creditable
income taxes, which may have the effect of going beyond prevention of double
taxation of foreign source income — it may actually lead to a reduction of taxes on
domestic source income. A provision in the Senate version of H.R. 4297 (109th
Congress) would have denied the foreign tax credit, under certain conditions, for
major integrated oil companies with gross receipts in excess of $1 billion. The
foreign tax credit would have been denied in the event that the foreign levy was
assessed in exchange for an economic benefit provided by the foreign jurisdiction to
the domestic oil company and if the foreign jurisdiction did not generally impose an
income tax. This provision, which would have increased taxes on such companies
by an estimated $0.8 billion over the 10-year period from FY2006 to FY2015, was
deleted from the final law, the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of

2006 (P.L. 109-222).24


Finally, Table 2 excludes targeted taxes that impose special tax liabilities on the
domestic oil and gas industry — taxes that are not imposed on other industries.
These would include taxes such as the motor fuels excise taxes (e.g., the 18.4¢ per
gallon tax on gasoline, the 24.4¢ per gallon tax on diesel) and the oil spill liability
trust fund excise tax, which imposes a $0.05 per barrel tax on every barrel of crude
oil refined domestically.25 These taxes are imposed on refiners, although under
normal (and stable) market conditions they are shifted forward (or passed through the
distribution and retailing chain) and largely paid by consumers. The motor fuels
excise taxes (including the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund Tax)
represent a tax liability — the amount of revenues collected by the federal


23 U.S. Congress. Joint Committee on Taxation. Comparison of Estimated Revenue Effects
of the Tax Provisions Contained in H.R. 4297, “The Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act
of 2005,” As Passed by the House, and H.R. 4297, “The Tax Relief Act of 2005,” As Passed
by the Senate. February 9, 2006.
24 U.S. Congress. Joint Committee on Taxation. Comparison of Estimated Revenue Effects
of the Tax Provisions Contained in H.R. 4297, “The Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act
of 2005,” As Passed by the House, and H.R. 4297, “The Tax Relief Act of 2005,” As Passed
by the Senate. February 9, 2006.
25 Moneys are allocated into a fund for cleaning up oil spills.

government — of about $36 billion in FY2006;26 revenues collected from the oil spill
liability excise tax are estimated by the JCT at $0.150 billion.


26 Revenues from motor fuels excise taxes are allocated primarily to the Highway Trust Fund
(HTF) and various trust funds, depending on the mode of transportation. The HTF also
includes revenue from excise taxes on tires, a heavy vehicle use tax, and retail sales tax on
trucks and tractors.