Feinstein Calls for End to Royalty ‘Holiday’ (bush ain't helping either...

[The Straight Story]

Senator Feinstein Calls for End to Royalty ‘Holiday’;
Seeks to Recoup Billions of Dollars in Lost Revenue

September 15, 2006
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Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) today stressed the importance of ending the royalty “holiday” that energy companies drilling in federal waters have enjoyed for more than seven years.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Interior Department’s Inspector General Earl Devaney confirmed that oil and gas companies have avoided paying the government billions of dollars in royalties due to an administrative error on drilling contracts signed in 1998 and 1999. It has also been reported that the Bush administration may be continuing to draw up new contracts which allow companies to avoid royalty payments.

“The Inspector General confirmed this week that the treasury has lost billions of dollars due to an administrative error that allowed oil and gas companies to drill in federal waters for free despite their record profits,” Senator Feinstein said.

“At current high prices, companies don’t need these additional incentives to drill. Instead, we need to provide incentives for oil and gas companies to renegotiate their leases and end these unnecessary federal handouts. Taxpayers should no longer be forced to bear the burden of $10 billion in lost revenue because of this clerical omission.”

http://feinstein.senate.gov/06releases/r-oil-toyalties0915.htm

[Kutjara]

1. For a minute, I thought the 'royalty holiday' she was referring to...

...was the one * takes every August.

I'm so sure the 'administrative error' was a real error. If the IRS made an error that allowed you to pay less tax, they'd be after you like a heatseeking missile once they discovered the error. If your bank accidentally gave you too much interest, they'd want it back and prosecute you for theft if you refused to repay it. Yet the oil companies get a multibillion dollar windfall because some beaurocrat misfiled a document? Riiiiiight.

And now BushCo are drafting new contracts that make the 'error' intentional? Doesn't sound like much of an error to me.

[bigtree]

2. this is great, but I wonder if she has the votes. I doubt it. Hope so.

k&r

[sutz12]

3. Somehow, I think $10 billion is the tip of a very large iceberg. nt

[The Straight Story]

4. And this is one reason I am careful about wanting to raise taxes

too fast (except on the rich of course). There are probably a lot of these stupid little things out there like this, not to mention wasted money on assinine things. Get all that in order, money spent where it should be, then look at tax increases.