Tax News

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

House Democrats wrapped up their agenda for the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress on January 18, by passing energy legislation designed to strip tax breaks and increase royalty payments from big oil companies. The House overwhelmingly approved the Clean Energy Bill of 2007 (HR 6) by a vote of 264 to 163. The bill was introduced on January 12 by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., and House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.
Ways and Means ranking member Jim McCrery, R-La., said the Democrat's bill would affect nearly every American either through higher gas and heating oil prices or lower returns on their pension accounts, which are invested heavily in American energy stocks. Fellow committee member Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., however, rejected that claim, saying that Democrats were making relatively minor changes in the tax code and promised that Congress would take even stronger actions to combat global warming.
Democrats said the bill would repeal roughly $14 billion in subsidies given to oil companies and invest the funds in clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The bill would eliminate the eligibility of oil and gas companies for a domestic manufacturing deduction, and it would roll back tax breaks for geological studies for oil exploration. The bill would also ensure that oil companies pay more royalties for leases awarded in 1998 and 1999.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., acknowledged that the House's Democratic priorities would have a more difficult time winning approval in the Senate and the White House. She pledged that the House would consider a more comprehensive energy bill by July 4, 2007.
By Stephen K. Cooper, CCH News Staff