Senate
tax bill would 'seriously harm' competitiveness: O'Reilly
PLATTS
WASHINGTON
Petroleumworld.com
03 15 06
In the current business environment for petroleum companies, it
would be
"unwise for Congress to take steps that disadvantage US companies
and their
ability to compete globally," David O'Reilly, Chevron chairman
and CEO, was to
testify Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
O'Reilly,
in prepared remarks, was to cite provisions in the Senate
version of the tax reconciliation bill that would limit the ability
of some
oil companies to use Last In-First Out accounting, and a second
provision that
would limit the same companies from taking a tax credit for income
taxes paid
to foreign governments.
"Both
of these provisions are, in effect, punitive tax increases that
would restrict the capital available to petroleum companies for
investing in
creating additional energy supplies," O'Reilly said. "This
would seriously
harm their ability to compete, especially overseas."
He was also
to defend oil industry mergers, which he said have made the
industry more efficient and allowed the companies to achieve economies
of
scale "to compete effectively in the global marketplace and
manage the
complexities and risks that are inherent in the energy industry."
O'Reilly and the heads of other US oil majors were to appear before
the committee Tuesday to discuss consolidation in the energy industry
and its
effect on oil prices.
Gerald Karey, gerry_karey@platts.com
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Platts
03 14 06
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