Senator Reverend Warnock introduced the Taxing Big Oil Profiteers Act, which would combat corporate greed and incentivize companies to lower prices at the pump for Georgians by raising taxes on oil and gas companies for greedy practices

In February, Senator Warnock introduced the Gas Prices Relief Act, aiming to provide families economic relief from high gas prices by temporarily suspending the 18 cents per gallon federal gas tax

In April, Senator Warnock pushed the White House to hold big oil companies accountable and better combat corporate greed and profiteering

Senator Reverend Warnock: “Corporations are making record profits while Georgians are paying higher prices just to get where they need to go. This critical legislation will bring needed balance that will help provide relief for Georgians’ pockets and accountability for Big Oil and Gas”

Legislation marks Senator Reverend Warnock’s most recent effort to lower costs for Georgia families, following his call for federal investigation into price-gouging by ocean carriers, his efforts to ease supply chain tensions, and his push to cap the price of insulin and prescription drugs

Washington, D.C. — As part of his efforts to curb rising costs and bring economic relief to hardworking Georgians,  U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) recently introduced new legislation to combat corporate greed and help incentivize companies to help lower prices at the pump for Georgians. The Taxing Big Oil Profiteers Act would help lower gas costs for Georgians by raising the corporate tax rate on large oil and gas companies’ excess profits, taxing large oil and gas stock buybacks, and eliminating an accounting loophole utilized by large oil and gas companies. Gas prices in Georgia are currently $3.42/gallon, a week ago were $3.51/gallon, and a year ago were $2.96/gallon.

“I’m pleased that Georgia drivers are getting some relief at the pump, but prices are still stubbornly high, which is why I’ve been laser-focused on lowering gas prices and bringing relief to Georgians,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “I’ve spoken to drivers across Georgia who are really struggling with these high gas prices, and meanwhile, corporations are making record profits on the backs of hardworking Georgians who are paying higher prices just to get where they need to go. This critical legislation will  provide relief for Georgians’ pockets, and accountability for Big Oil and Gas. The Senate needs to take up and pass this bill as quickly as possible.”

The Taxing Big Oil Profiteers Act would update the tax code for the richest oil and gas companies—namely, companies that are primarily engaged in the oil or natural gas businesses and have, on average, revenue of at least $1 billion over the prior three years. The changes are entirely focused on increasing taxes on sky high-profit margins, capital returns to wealthy investors, and inventory accounting tricks that allows oil and gas companies to reduce the profits they have to report. Specifically, the Taxing Big Oil Profiteers Act would update the code with the following taxes for wealthy oil and gas companies:

• An excess profits tax, which would apply an additional corporate tax rate of 21% for any profits made beyond 10% of expenses.
• A stock buyback excise tax of 25% for any publicly-traded company that also meets the conditions above. 
• Eliminate last-in/first-out (LIFO) inventory accounting for wealthy oil and gas companies. Under the LIFO method, a corporate taxpayer may determine inventory costs based on their most recently purchased inventory. LIFO provides a tax benefit to corporations (in this case, some of the world’s wealthiest oil and gas companies) because the cost of more recently acquired inventory will normally be higher than that of older inventory, resulting in lower taxable income.

Senator Warnock has been fighting for months to address rising gas prices and bring economic relief to Georgians. In February, the Senator introduced the Gas Prices Relief Act, which would save families money at the pump by temporarily suspending the 18 cents per gallon federal gas tax. In April, Senator Warnock pushed the White House to hold big oil companies accountable and better combat corporate greed and profiteering. 

The introduction of the Taxing Big Oil Profiteers Act marks Senator Reverend Warnock’s most recent effort to lower costs for Georgia families, following his call for federal investigation into price-gouging by ocean carriers, his efforts to ease supply chain tensions, and his successful push to cap the cost of insulin and prescription drugs for seniors of Medicare.

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