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(Reuters) - A senator from Florida called on Wednesday for a congressional inquiry into BP Plc's plan to use losses from the Gulf oil spill to reap $10 billion in tax benefits.
Senator Bill Nelson said he wants a probe into whether BP, which announced on Tuesday a $32 billion charge linked to the clean-up, will be deducting legal expenses related to nondeductible fines and penalties, and whether BP should deduct the full cost of its $20 billion cleanup fund.
Article is here.
But wait! There is more.
On the House floor, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) just said he will introduce legislation that would prevent oil companies from claiming a tax deduction for oil spill expenses. Engel did not give details on the legislation, but I’ve put a call into his office to get a copy of the bill.
OK, I am not a big fan of BP. In fact, I would like nothing more than to see BP pay the price for it's recklessness. But come on, fair is fair.
1) BP is taking advantage of the same tax code that everybody else uses for when they are hit a loss. Why should it be different for BP?
2) Also, if Congress now passes a special rule to deny BP the same right that everbody else has, it would be unconstitutional....
The Constitution of the United States of America said:No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
What doesn't Congress understand about that?
For these 2 reasons, I am against denying the right of BP to take this tax credit, even though they probably don't deserve to. Like I said, fair is fair. And an investigation, just because BP is claiming the same thing that everybody else would have the right to claim, is preposterous. For those who disagree with me on this, let me ask you. If they can do this to BP, don't you think they could do it to you, if you were in their political gunsight?
Discussion?
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