Click here to read the letter ATR sent to Congress.

Today, Americans for Tax Reform and a coalition of 27 national and state organizations sent a letter to Congress urging them to oppose all tax hikes on the oil and gas industry.  Currently, some elected officials are looking to repeal the tax exemptions that oil and gas companies, along with all domestic manufacturers, are entitled to.    “Oil companies are subject to many of the same tax laws as other domestic manufacturers, even though much of their operations occur overseas and incur foreign tax liabilities. In fact, the effective tax rate for oil and natural gas companies in 2009 was 48 percent compared to 28 percent for the rest of Standard and Poor’s industries, explaining why oil and gas companies paid a total of $13.3 billion in taxes last year.”

In this economic climate, Congress should be doing all it can to encourage investment and help create jobs in the U.S.  “Employed by every domestic manufacturer and producer in the United States, the domestic jobs manufacturing deduction (section 199 of the I.R.C.) is a tax break given to American companies to encourage growth and investment in the U.S. A repeal of this provision for oil companies discourages multinational entities from creating jobs here, as opposed to abroad.”