WASHINGTON — Senate Finance Committee Democrats are discussing ways to tax large oil and gas companies’ excess profits that could be tied to the recent spike in global crude oil prices and use the revenue to provide financial support to consumers impacted by higher costs at the pump.
“We’re looking at it right now,” Finance Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told reporters Wednesday, noting he would have more to say after the panel reviews the concept and various proposals in more detail.
Finance member Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has introduced a windfall profits tax bill that would levy a quarterly tax on large oil companies and distribute the revenue to consumers through a quarterly rebate. The per-barrel tax would be equivalent to half the differential between the pre-pandemic average oil price from 2015 through 2019 and current prices.
