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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (191611)	7/13/2006 7:44:17 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 281500

"Businesses which have to rely on government subsidies aren't a plus for the economy, but a negative" I'm so glad to hear you say that. I'll make a lefty out of you yet. The 16 Worst Subsidies – $5 Billion Every Year Immediate Expensing of Exploration and Development Costs – $200 million/year Oil, gas, and coal producers can immediately expense (write off) most or all of their development costs. Other businesses must deduct these expenses over a longer period of time. Percentage Depletion Allowance for Oil and Gas – $600 million/year Independent oil and gas companies can deduct 15 percent of their sales revenue using the special percentage depletion allowance – instead of the standard cost depreciation – regardless of the actual loss in value over time. Requiring Full Coal Firm Support for the Black Lung Fund – $350 million/year Designed to internalize the health-related costs of coal mining, this fund requires government support to pay for work-related disabilities of coal miners. Intangible Drilling Costs – $500 million/year Integrated oil and gas companies can immediately deduct 70 percent of "intangible" drilling costs. Most other businesses deduct such expenses over time and therefore receive less of a tax benefit. Passive Loss for Oil and Gas – $100 million/year This tax shelter for investors in oil and gas allows certain owners to offset "passive losses" against income to pay lower taxes. Non-Conventional Fuel Production Credit – $1.3 billion/year This tax credit for certain types of fuel extracted from "non-conventional" sources was intended to provide incentives for petroleum alternatives, but most of the credit has gone for oil and gas production. Tax Breaks for Enhanced Oil Recovery – $100 million/year Expensing (writing off) tertiary injectant costs and the tax credit for enhanced oil recovery encourage extraction of difficult to reach and expensive oil deposit remnants. Clean Coal Technology Program – $250 million/ year This program helps finance private companies to develop cleaner burning coal technologies by providing up to 50 percent in federal matching funds. Coal R&D – $100 million/year The Department of Energy supports research in technology programs for producing, refining, and burning coal products. Other Fossil Energy R&D – $100 million/year The federal government provides subsidies for oil and natural gas research and development. Multilateral Development Bank Loans for Fossil Fuel – $80 million/year The U.S. federal government supports several multilateral development banks, which provide loans for fossil fuel development in other countries. Export Import Bank Guarantees for Fossil Fuel – $300 million/year The Export Import Bank provides federal loan guarantees for investments in unstable countries. A portion of these loans are used for fossil fuel development. Capital Gains Treatment of Royalties on Coal – $15 million/year Individual owners (as opposed to corporations) who lease out their coal mining rights are able to pay capital gains taxes on these royalties, rather than the higher top individual income tax rate. Income Tax Exemption for Publicly Owned Utilities – $200 million/year Publicly owned utilities and cooperatives are not subject to federal income tax on their profits or retained earnings. Some of these utilities use fossil fuels. Rural Utilities Service Loans – $900 million/year The federal government provides low-interest loans to rural-electrification cooperatives. These cooperatives have invested heavily in energy plants using fossil fuels. Tax Exemption for Publicly Owned Utility Bonds – $550 million/year Publicly owned utilities (POUs) can issue tax-exempt bonds. A significant portion of POUs have invested in energy sources using fossil fuels taxpayer.net And then there atre the logging companies,...