Are green energy programs wasting tax payer money?

Geoist · May 9, 2016

Lord of Planar said:
Yes, ignorant people use it all the time that way.

Investopedia is has a CEO whi is a digital media expert. Not an investment expert. I's all part of the game, to use the same correct and incorrect terms, and idioms that the ignorant masses use.

Besides the fact that one is direct and the other is indirect, there is no difference between a company receiving X dollars or getting a tax break for X dollars.

Lord of Planar · May 9, 2016

Geoist said:
Besides the fact that one is direct and the other is indirect, there is no difference between a company receiving X dollars or getting a tax break for X dollars.

I accept that there are different opinions of what is similar and what isn't. However, we have synonyms in the English language for a reason. Nuances. If people aspire to reduce their vocabulary, and intellectual thinking, then OK...

I'm not one of them.

Geoist · May 12, 2016

Lord of Planar said:
I accept that there are different opinions of what is similar and what isn't. However, we have synonyms in the English language for a reason. Nuances. If people aspire to reduce their vocabulary, and intellectual thinking, then OK...

I'm not one of them.

People argue over the definitions of a lot of words (off the top of my head, capitalism's definition seems to get far more attention on DP than others). Far more attention than they should, as people then lose sight of the main issues.

Plenty of well-respected institutions/experts include tax concessions as a type of indirect subsidy. If you don't like to say subsidy then don't say it. Doesn't change the fact corporations are unfairly given a leg up with such policies.

longview · May 12, 2016

Geoist said:
People argue over the definitions of a lot of words (off the top of my head, capitalism's definition seems to get far more attention on DP than others). Far more attention than they should, as people then lose sight of the main issues.

Plenty of well-respected institutions/experts include tax concessions as a type of indirect subsidy. If you don't like to say subsidy then don't say it. Doesn't change the fact corporations are unfairly given a leg up with such policies.

Unfairly given a leg up over whom? The majority of tax deductions for doing business,
apply to anyone doing business.

Geoist · May 12, 2016

longview said:
Unfairly given a leg up over whom? The majority of tax deductions for doing business,
apply to anyone doing business.

Just about any business can receive a tax deduction. Some receive bigger deductions/subsidies than others.

longview · May 12, 2016

Geoist said:
Just about any business can receive a tax deduction. Some receive bigger deductions/subsidies than others.

The point is, that if the deductions are available for all businesses, how is one business getting a leg up on the other business?
What you seem to be calling subsidies, are standard business deductions, I.E. Businesses are
allowed to deduct from the gross, the legitimate costs of doing their business.
There are a few deductions unique to the oil and gas business, but there are also unique risks.

Geoist · May 12, 2016

longview said:
The point is, that if the deductions are available for all businesses, how is one business getting a leg up on the other business?
What you seem to be calling subsidies, are standard business deductions, I.E. Businesses are
allowed to deduct from the gross, the legitimate costs of doing their business.
There are a few deductions unique to the oil and gas business, but there are also unique risks.

Sure, the deductions are available for all businesses... if all businesses were worth billions of dollars. Ultimately, these government policies hurt newer companies that seek to compete with the well-established leviathans.

Lord of Planar · May 13, 2016

Geoist said:
Plenty of well-respected institutions/experts include tax concessions as a type of indirect subsidy. If you don't like to say subsidy then don't say it. Doesn't change the fact corporations are unfairly given a leg up with such policies.

The agenda driven people driving such things should be fired. It is diminishing standards of learning.

longview · May 13, 2016

Geoist said:
Sure, the deductions are available for all businesses... if all businesses were worth billions of dollars. Ultimately, these government policies hurt newer companies that seek to compete with the well-established leviathans.

So you think there are deductions that are only for large companies?

KLATTU · May 13, 2016

Geoist said:
Sure, the deductions are available for all businesses... if all businesses were worth billions of dollars. Ultimately, these government policies hurt newer companies that seek to compete with the well-established leviathans.

So the answer is take away the tax breaks? What do you thing THAT will do to the small businesses and startups. ( It's rhetorical- It will stifle both).

"
Which is why some tax breaks do NOT apply to 'Big Oil.

"Meanwhile, far from singling out big oil for favorable treatment, oftentimes the tax code excludes them from receiving the same tax treatment as other heavy industries. For example, all natural resource extraction companies are allowed to deduct the depletion of their resources from their taxes. This has been in the tax code since 1913. In 1926, this was made applicable to oil and gas, but in 1975, it was severely constrained to only very small independent oil and gas producers -- those producing under 1,000 barrels per day.

Another example of this is the Manufacturer's Tax Deduction signed into law in 2004 to encourage the creation of American jobs. In 2008, this was decreased for the oil and gas industry by a third. No other industry received this negative treatment. "
Big Oil's Tax Subsidies Aren't What You Think They Are -- The Motley Fool