PRESIDENT BIDEN CALLS OUT “OUTRAGEOUS” BIG OIL PROFITS AND PROPOSES QUADRUPLING STOCK BUYBACK TAX
tags
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tonight, President Biden pushed for a quadruple increase in taxes on corporate buybacks to curb profiteering and encourage investment in domestic production. In the first three quarters of 2022, oil and gas companies spent $110 billion on stock buybacks to reward their already-wealthy shareholders and Wall Street executives. The 1% buyback tax rate implemented by the Inflation Reduction Act has already raised $1.1 billion from corporate buybacks – with the President’s proposed 4% increase, stock buybacks from just the first 9 months of 2022 would have raised $4.4 billion that could fund critical clean energy investments.
As it stands now, oil and gas companies are price gouging at the pump, inflating both their profits and their buybacks, rewarding billionaires while working families struggle to meet the bottom line. The increased buyback tax rate, which is unlikely to move through Congress successfully, would help control corporate buyback spending and encourage corporations to raise wages and invest in American innovation.
In 2022, just five of the biggest oil and gas corporations reported a record-breaking $180.5 BILLION in profits, and $85 BILLION to shareholders:
- ExxonMobil: Reported $59 billion in 2022.
- They spent a total of $32 billion on stock buybacks and dividends.
- Chevron: Reported $36.5 billion in 2022.
- They spent a total of $22 billion on stock buybacks and dividends.
- Shell: Reported $40 billion in 2022.
- They spent $25.8 billion on stock buybacks and dividends.
- ConocoPhillips: Reported $17.3 billion in 2022.
- They spent $15 billion on stock buybacks and dividends.
- BP: Reported $27.6 billion in 2022.
- They spent a total of $14.4 billion on stock buybacks and dividends.