Southern California Rep. Katie Porter wants to make it illegal for Big Oil, and all other companies, to get tax credits for any marketing that promotes the use of oil or gas. Calling credits for su…
of oil wells end up being unproductive. So critics say there’s no good reason for taxpayers to continue to subsidize drilling — particularly given what we now know about the harms of fossil fuels.
Along with a number of tax breaks specific to the oil and gas industries, these companies also get to deduct expenses the same way most other companies do. That’s where marketing costs come into play.Advertising is a traditional business expense and most companies are allowed a tax deduction for a portion of what they spend on it. But thehas a long list of expenses that can’t be deducted, from golden parachute payments to profits from “the illegal sale of drugs.
Porter’s End Subsidies for Fossil Fuel Advertising Act would add marketing that encourages the “extraction, distribution, and consumption of oil and gas and their derivatives” to the list of business expenses that can’t be deducted.Public relations firms and consulting firms that offer “climate disinformation services on behalf of fossil fuel companies” are just one example, Porter’s office said.
The Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, estimates that repealing nine key tax breaks for oil and gas companies would, at minimum, save the U.S. Treasury $37.7 billion over 10 years. And that’s without factoring in advertising write-offs.Chevron and Shell didn’t respond to a request for comment on Porter’s bill or her concerns about potential greenwashing, while ExxonMobil declined to comment.
When Democrats have pushed in the past to remove tax credits for oil and gas companies, oil executives and industry supporters have argued these are common business deductions that help keep domestic oil production flowing and that it’s not fair to single them out. And they’ve
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