August 12, 2022 - The 770 plus page “Inflation Reduction Act” was approved by the U.S. Senate on Monday and is set for a vote in the House this afternoon. What does this bill really contain? We keep finding more information.
In the area of oil production, the Hill reports:
• Some fossil fuel production on public lands would be bolstered.
• The future of solar and wind on public lands and wind in public waters would be tied to requirements to hold lease sales that open up new oil and gas production.
• The bill reinstates the results of a recent offshore oil and gas lease sale that was struck down on environmental grounds. The Interior Department would be required to hold at least three more offshore oil and gas lease sales by October 2023.
• Minimum royalties increase for companies to pay the government for oil and gas they extract on public lands and waters. A royalty is added to the extraction of gas that is later burned off or released as waste instead of sold as fuel.
• An excise tax on imported petroleum and crude oil products to fund the cleanup of industrial disaster sites increases from 9.7 cents to 16.4 cents per barrel. The reinstatement of the tax is projected to raise $11 billion.
• The bill permanently extends and increases the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, a tax on coal production to finance claims from workers with the condition. Black lung, caused by long-term exposure to and inhalation of coal dust, is believed to affect at least 10 percent of coal miners with at least 25 years’ experience, according to a 2018 study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
In the area of clean energy, the National Association of Manufacturers reports:
• The bill extends tax credits for renewable energy projects, increases credits for carbon capture and creates a new credit for energy from qualified nuclear plants.
• It also creates and extends a variety of credits for clean hydrogen production, biodiesel, renewable diesel and alternative and second-generation biofuels and offers new incentives for energy-efficient homes as well as clean and electric vehicles.
• In addition, the bill includes significant investments in green energy manufacturing, including a new advanced manufacturing production tax credit.
The IRS will receive $80 billion to go toward hiring 87,000 new agents, along with upgrading some computer systems to help with processing and auditing. With the job market as it is, we wonder if they will actually be able to hire that many people. They will need the extra people as NAM reports concerning corporate taxes:
• The legislation creates a new 15% corporate alternative minimum tax that applies to corporations with a three-year average adjusted financial statement income exceeding $1 billion.
• It also creates a 1% excise tax on stock buybacks and extends the current limits on business losses that can be deducted by noncorporate taxpayers—$270,000 for individuals and $540,000 for joint filers—to 2028.
Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer analyzes it this way. “According to Americans for Tax Reform, the bill includes: a $12 billion crude oil tax; a $1.2 billion coal tax; a $225 billion tax on U.S. companies; a 95% excise tax on American pharmaceutical manufacturers; and a $52 billion income tax increase on mid-sized and family businesses. How are we supposed to lower the price of gas when crude oil is going to be more expensive? Are drug prices really going to be lowered with a 95% excise tax on the people who make them? And do they really believe that a $225 billion tax increase on U.S. companies won’t make the price of the items they sell go up? Not to mention the probability of small businesses – who are already struggling – having to close because they’ll be taxed out of business. That leads to even fewer places to buy the things we need.”
Congressman Sam Graves asserts, “Instead of tackling the problem of rising prices and skyrocketing inflation, liberals in Washington have chosen to slap a new name on their same old failed policies. That’s a disaster for Missouri families, who are already paying $737 more each month because of inflation under President Biden’s watch.”
Congressman Jason Smith, House Budget Committee Republican Leader and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, joined Fox News’ America’s Newsroom to slam Washington Democrats’ $745 billion spending bill. As Budget Republican Leader, Smith has led the effort in Congress to expose the Inflation Act’s wasteful and inflationary spending, detail its middle- and low-income tax increases, and expose how it will unleash an army of 87,000 new IRS agents to audit middle- and low-income Americans: