Senate Commitee Approves $5 Bln. in Oil-Profit Taxes
he Senate Finance Committee voted Tuesday to impose a $5 billion tax next year on the nation's biggest oil companies, the New York Times reported.
The measure would equate to a one-year windfall profits tax, a concept that most Republicans had until recently opposed, the Times reported. It was added to a larger bill that would cut taxes by about $61 billion over five years.
Some Republicans who support the oil industry protested the measure, noting that Congress had recently approved billions in new tax breaks to encourage oil and gas exploration.
Five of the largest oil companies reported big profits for the third quarter of about $33 billion, partly as the result of skyrocketing oil prices following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Oil executives testified at a Congressional hearing last week, defending their record results in the face of mounting criticism from some who said consumers were being gouged at the pump.
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