On April 20th of this year, the lives of the people living on the Gulf of Mexico were changed forever. That day the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, damaging a well a mile below the ocean’s surface. Massive amounts of oil spewed into the waters of the Gulf and it took 3 months for British Petroleum (BP), the operator of the rig, to cap the well.
The group that has incurred the most damage (besides the Gulf’s wildlife) are the small business owners and employees that rely on the seafood and summer tourism industry. Not only are the fisherman prevented from dropping their nets in a huge section of the Gulf but contamination worries have made the seafood they do bring in tough to sell. As for tourists, they are nowhere to be found. People are choosing to vacation in places where they don’t have to worry about seeing birds covered in thick black goo and where they can enjoy a white sandy beach not tainted by oil.
Whether it be hotels, restaurants, shrimping boats, or sport fishing tours, almost all small businesses have next to no customers. These people aren’t wealthy and most don’t have much in the way of savings to live on. That is why I was pleased when our government forced BP to set up a $20 billion escrow account to pay claims for the oil-spill. This provides those whose livelihood was taken away by BP’s callous mistakes a chance to keep a roof over their head and food on their tables. I was happy not to see our tax dollars funding this but holding BP accountable.
Unfortunately, it seems my satisfaction is to be short-lived. BP said this week that it has incurred a charge of $32.2 billion from the Deepwater Horizon disaster and is therefore claiming a $9.9 billion tax credit for costs related to the cleanup. As the IRS regulations are written, this tax credit is perfectly legal.
This seems outrageous to me. At a time when the Gulf is facing such a severe economic and environmental disaster it seems absurd that BP will be able to offset 50% of the $20 billion escrow account.
Many are questioning the White House in this matter. It was the meeting between President Obama and BP’s CEO Tony Hayward from which the escrow account was created. It is being questioned whether or not the topic of taxes was even brought to the table during this meeting. Is it really possible BP got away with $10 billion because the White House forgot to address this issue? At this point it is unclear whether the administration goofed or not.
Let’s hope this issue gets resolved without BP taking the tax credit. If not, what will probably happen is that you and I will have to make up for the $10 billion with our tax dollars and that’s the last thing the USA needs right now.
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Is this just another of the high handed items the White House is dishing out?
How can the White House hire all those Carzs that it has. Who is paying for all of them?
I do not belief that us the American people should pay for BPs mess or any Oil Company mess that they cause by failing to comply with Safety/Health regulations.