- "Fossil fuels are subsidized at nearly 6 times the rate of renewable energy. From 2002 to 2008, the US Government gave the mature fossil fuel industry over $72 billion in subsidies, while investments in the emerging renewable industry totaled $12.2 billion.
- The fossil fuel energy industry does not need taxpayer subsidies. In 2011, the Big Five oil companies alone made $137 billion in profits. During the first quarter of 2012, the Big Five oil companies earned a combined $33.5 billion, or $368 million per day.
- Unlike renewable energy incentives which periodically expire and require Congress to approve extensions, the fossil fuel industry has dozens of subsidies permanently engrained in the tax code from decades of successful lobbying. In 2011, the oil, gas, and coal industries spent a combined $167 million on lobbying the federal government. "
And check out Bernie Saunders' list of coal deductions and subsidies:
COAL
Eliminate mining exploration deduction, 26 USC 617 (sec 14) - $.44 billion (President’s FY2013 budget) – allows coal mining companies to deduct certain exploration and development costs.
Eliminate mining and solid waste costs 26 USC 468 (Sec 14) - $.4 billion (Joint Committee Taxation) – tax deduction for certain costs related to mining and waste site reclamation and closure.
Eliminate credit for carbon dioxide sequestration 26 USC 45Q (Sec 15) – provides tax credit of between $10 and $20 per metric ton of carbon sequestered by industrial facilities such as coal plants.
Eliminate advanced coal credits 26 USC 48A and 48B (Sec 14) - $2 billion (Joint Committee Taxation based on projection of 5 year estimate) – tax credits provided for construction of advanced coal plants.
Repeal domestic manufacturing deduction for mining, 26 USC 199(c)(4) (Sec 18, 19) - $.271 billion (President’s FY2013 budget)– This provision, from a 2004 law, allows coal industry to claim it is a ‘manufacturer’ and claim deductions aimed at incentivizing American manufacturing.
Termination of capital gains treatment for royalties from coal, 26 USC 631 (Sec 22) - $.422 billion (President’s FY2013 budget)– this provision was enacted in 1951, and allows coal companies to treat income from coal mines as a capital gain, taxed at 15 percent maximum, instead of regular income which could be taxed at a much higher rate.
Designate Powder River Basin coal-producing region (Sec 28) – would require BLM to designate Powder River Basin a “coal-producing region” giving federal government more impetus and authority to get a fair return on leases, and not to simply provided leases based on industry needs.
Fair Market value study Powder River Basin (Sec 28) – requires BLM to do a fair market value study of Powder River Basin to determine if taxpayers are getting a fair return for leases.
Repeal percentage depletion for coal 26 USC 613 (Sec 21) - $1.744 billion (President’s FY2013 budget)– allows coal companies to deduct 10 percent of their sales revenue to reflect declining value of their investment, regardless of actual value of their investment.
Eliminate DOE loan guarantees for advanced coal projects, 42 USC 16513 (Sec 10) - $.08 billion ($8 billion in loan guarantees with risk to government calculated at .01%, but risk could be much higher)
TOTAL COAL - $5.357 billion over ten years
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