American Petroleum Institute Quantifies Impact of President Obama's Tax Reform

The American Petroleum Institute estimates that the impact of President Obama's proposals to repeal oil and gas industry tax preferences and to reform the tax code will cost the energy industry an estimated $86 billion over the next decade.

The oil and gas industry is lobbying Capitol Hill and conducting a high-profile media campaign in key election-year states to defeat the administration's proposals.

Jack Gerard, API president, said in a Feb. 23 conference call that the tax hike “would chase energy investment out of the country, stifle job creation, drive up imports and our trade deficit, and would increase the volatility of gasoline markets.”

The president's fiscal 2013 budget request, unveiled Feb. 13, calls for eliminating tax preferences for the oil and gas industry in light of $100-per-barrel oil prices and record industry profits.