Will raising or lowering taxes for oil companies really do anything at all?

Question

Raise Taxes: Oil companies raise prices.

Lower Taxes: Oil companies pocket profits.

There has to be a better way.

Answer 1

Obviously, as you indicated in your question, if we raise their costs (taxes), they'll raise their prices.

There's a remote chance that if we lower their costs (taxes), they'll lower the price of their product - but I doubt it would amount to any significant drop at the consumer level.

We have unfortunately build our whole economic infrastructure on cheap energy - and cheap energy is no longer available, and I doubt it will ever return, at least not in the guise of fossil fuels.

Answer 2

I think it would have a positive effect because taxes take out a huge amount of any business's money.  The higher the tax the more they have to produce just to make their operations profitable.  This hurts small businesses, start-ups, and struggling businesses the most.  So lowering taxes always has a positive effect.  

Answer 3

Yes.  Lowering taxes on oil companies will make them richer, it will make their investors richer, and they will give more in campaign contributions to the Republicans.  So lowering taxes for oil companies helps Republicans.  Do you think it's a coincidence that our president, vice president, sec'y of state, and about 30 other top level officials in the Bush White House come from the oil industry?

Taxes are not tied to prices.  Oil companies can't just set their prices wherever they want. To some extent prices are market driven.

Look at it from the other end of the binoculars.  When the price of gas goes up, can you just go to your boss and say 'I need a $30/week raise because my expenses are higher.'?  Of course not.  Your work is worth what it was worth a month ago.  It's the same with prices.

Answer 4

Tax their profits. That's all. The thought of that will make them shudder about prices.

Answer 5

The best way is to conserve.

I do believe that the middle east, russia and venezuela start conflicts specifically to raise oil.  They make a ton off of conflicts.

Answer 6

No. Why do you liberals see big oil as the bad guys, when the government is the one responsible for the high price to begin with.

The government gets in the way of energy production. No drilling for oil, no new oil refineries built, subsidizing bio-fuels like corn, and taxes all drive up the costs of gas.

If you get mad at the high price of gas then you should blame the democrats in congress who went on vacation for 5 weeks, instead of giving the bill on drilling an up or down vote.

The queen Bee Nancy Pelosi should be fired for her arrogance.

Answer 7

About the same effect as increasing offshore drilling.