WASHINGTON – As the economy continues to struggle, and thousands of Americans continue to lose their jobs, President Barack Obama unveiled a new infrastructure spending proposal this week, which may be financed by billions of dollars in new, job-killing tax hikes on America’s independent oil and natural gas producers, who on average employ only 12 workers, but provide 82 percent of American natural gas and 68 percent of domestic oil. The president’s $50 billion dollar spending plan will — like the first $787 billion stimulus — direct tax dollars to infrastructure projects.
Bruce Vincent, chairman of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and president of the Houston-based Swift Energy Company (NYSE: SFY), issued this statement in response to the president’s proposed tax hikes on domestic oil and natural gas producers:
“With the nation’s unemployment rate on the rise, moving closer toward double-digit figures, and America’s dependence on unstable regions of the world to fuel our economy growing by the day, it’s unfortunate that the president still doesn’t recognize that billions of dollars in higher taxes on America’s independent oil and natural gas producers, who drill 90 percent of the nation’s wells, is not a jobs plan — it’s a job-killer.
“Billions of dollars in new energy taxes will lead to fewer American jobs, less stable supplies of homegrown energy, and an increased reliance on foreign oil.
“IPAA supports commonsense infrastructure investments. But that’s not what’s being put on the table by the White House. While leaders in Washington should be focused on policies that will create private sector jobs, and help put our nation on a path toward a more secure energy future, these billions of dollars in new taxes will discourage domestic energy production, which is led by America’s independent oil and gas producers, and lead to higher unemployment.”
NOTE:
- In June, the U.S. Senate “failed to muster even a simple 51-vote majority” on a measure to increase taxes by $35 billion on America’s oil and natural gas producers offered by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described “democratic socialist.”
- President Obama’s Proposed New Taxes on American Gas and Oil Production
- President Obama’s Plan to Increase Taxes on American Energy Production Will Kill Jobs, Deepen Foreign Dependence
