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Her expertise was passing a windfall profits tax on Alaskan oil companies.

Steve

Biden better watch out.  She is awesome.

Alaskan state government is like Texas, it is highly dependent on oil tax revenues.  Moreover, she increased tax on the oil companies in the form of a windfall profits tax.

No wonder she wants to drill, drill, drill.

Steve and spencer,

Stop making your comments based on Democratic talking points.  Palin raised the severance tax in Alaska, which is levied per barrel extracted and not on the income of the company producing it.

Facts are to the Obama supporters what water is to the Wicked Witch of the West. 

Jennifer Rubin at her usual best: 

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/rubin/26811

I know it’s fun to claim a Republican supported a windfall profits tax.  But it’s also inaccurate.  As already mentioned, Palin did support raising the “severance tax” on oil companies, but that’s as different from a windfall profits tax as sales tax is from income tax ( http://beldar.blogs.com/beldarblog/2008/08/dont-be-misled.html ).

"Palin raised the severance tax in Alaska, which is levied per barrel extracted and not on the income of the company producing it.”

That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Billy S.

Ok, explain to us the difference between a windfall profits tax and a severance tax.

According to the Alaska Republican party the tax legislation included these provisions:

Here are some highlights of bill:

* 20% production tax credits for oil and gas investment in Alaska
* 22.5% tax rate on “net” positive cash flow or “Production Tax Value”
* Progressivity. A higher tax rate (.25) kicks in when oil sells for more than $55 per barrel.

Note the Progressivity part.  That is a windfall profits tax.

Yes, she raised severances taxes.

But she also imposed a windfall profits tax.

You must be Republicans.  You have no qualms about lying about something that can easily be
googled.

A severance tax is designed to compensate the state for the permanent dimunition of the value of the land caused by the severance (removal) of the oil (or natural gas) from the land.  It is a percentage of the value of the oil at or near the point of severance (the well).  Oil “in place” is part of the realty and makes the land more valuable.  Removal of the oil permanently removes a valuable part of the realty that could have been taxed in the future.

It has been rare for a state to vary the percentage based on the value of the oil (in the quaint days of $10/bbl. oil about 10 years ago, some states initiated programs to reduce the tax rate on marginal wells if the price was very low).  Spencer says that Alaska’s new tax includes a higher percentage when the value of oil is higher than a certain threshold.

Here in NM, we have four forms of severance tax that, on oil, total 7.15% of the value (relative to other nearby oil and gas states , this rate is high but lower than what Spencer notes for Alaska).  Every owner of an interest in the well pays the tax on their share of the production except that federal and state governments who are paid royalties that are not taxed.  It does not matter whether you are a giant oil company, a mom-and-pop operation, or an individual--you pay 7.15% of the the value of the oil attributable to your interest in a well regardless of the size of the profit, if any, that you make.  It is also an known cost that everyone plans upon paying when evaluating the economics of a project (although raising the tax rate raises the cost).

A “windfall profits tax” is an increase in the income tax rate on oil-related income because the legislature thinks a company or individual is making too much money on their oil investments.  It is an increase in the income tax rate for certain types of income.  It has only been done once--in the Carter administration--and discouraged investment in oil and gas projects.

Drew you are going to have to create better shit than this.

Our host is a good lawyer.  Explain to him how
a tax when the legislature “thinks” a company is making too much money on an investment can be enforced in a court of law,

What you are saying is a bunch of made up shit that has no basis in fact.

In the past you may have been able to get away with such stupidity.

But no more.

Al you have done so far is demonstrate that you have no idea what you are talking about.