The Obama administration has submitted a budget to Congress that includes a $10-per-barrel oil tax phased in over five years. The tax would help fund surface transportation projects. The fee would not apply to domestic petroleum exports, only to imported crude and petroleum products.
Republicans have already spoken out against the idea, but the historically contentious nature of oil and fuel taxes may be more palatable to consumers than usual given the dramatic drops in the prices they’re paying at the pump.
At the current rate of consumption, the tax would generate about $65 billion per year once it has been fully implemented. Part of the goal of the tax, however, would be to decrease consumption by providing an incentive for companies to use oil products more efficiently.
This does not bode well for Canada. First the decision not to build Keystone, now all our oil to be taxed much more significantly. Yet, we can’t even have our own oil for the majority of Canadians.
