The Zombies of the U.S. Tax Code: Why Fossil Fuels Subsidies Seem Impossible to Kill
www.nytimes.com
For the fourth year in a row, President Biden is trying to eliminate federal tax breaks for coal, oil and gas companies. But fossil fuel subsidies have proven difficult to stop.
  • randompasta@lemmy.today
    2·
    8 months ago

    Won’t anyone think of the poor oil industry?? How else can we continue to support the industry with little capital to invest in exploration, development, and paying off politicians?

  • AA5B@lemmy.world
    2·
    8 months ago

    Geez, especially that intangible drilling benefit, needs to go. From the description in that article, that would be a great idea to encourage the risky process of new drilling. I can see how we’d want to do that for most of the last century. However, it should have been the first subsidy to go when we started trying to transition to renewables. Why encourage development of new resources that we’re trying to move away from?

    It’s the same thing with new pipelines. Assuming everything remains the same, they’d be a great investment, but we can’t afford to have ebpverything remain the same. Arguably we can’t afford a long enough timeline for them to pay off. Why destroy the environment for a long term investment that we’re trying to stop

  • Soggytoast@lemm.ee
    1·
    8 months ago

    Starting this year I now have an extra tax I must pay because I use too little oil. 120$ btw

  • LSNLDN@slrpnk.net
    21·
    8 months ago

    It’s so irrational that he can’t just… do it!? Like wasn’t he elected by Americans to make decisions on behalf of the people, of whom overwhelmingly support sensible decisions like this!?

    I know the world is more complex than this but surely we need to unfuck the world like DAMN we’re just going to collapse instead…

    • silence7@slrpnk.netOP
      3·
      8 months ago

      The US government is designed to split power across multiple individials and institutions. So no, he can’t just do some things. And changing the tax code is one of them.

      • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
        3·
        8 months ago

        Most people don’t understand the US government. Not even at a broad “separation of powers” level.

        • AA5B@lemmy.world
          1·
          8 months ago

          In particular, Congress has the power to levy taxes and allocate budgets. All the President can do is influence, encourage. He has more influence within his own party but they all vote according to their beliefs, and he has very little influence on the opposing party

    • Fedizen@lemmy.world
      11·
      8 months ago

      I don’t think that’s something controllable by a single person. Especially given any attempt at regulating the oil industry has been overruled by the authoritarian supreme court.