(2010-07-05) Oil Industry Subsidies

When the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform set off the worst Oil Spill at sea in American history, it was flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. Registering there allowed the rig’s owner to significantly reduce its American taxes... an examination of the American tax code indicates that oil production (Oil Industry) is among the most heavily subsidized (Subsidy) businesses, with tax breaks available at virtually every stage of the exploration and extraction process... An economist for the Treasury Department said in 2009 that a study had found that oil prices and potential profits were so high that eliminating the subsidies would decrease American output by less than half of one percent... Some of the tax breaks date back nearly a century, when they were intended to encourage exploration in an era of rudimentary technology, when costly investments frequently produced only dry holes.