Under Palin's windfall profits tax on oil every man, woman and child of Alaska will receive $1,200, in addition to $2,069 they will receive from other oil taxes. [1-3] Under Obama's plan individual adults would receive $500; married couples $1,000.
The Obama campaign, August 5, 2008:
Barack Obama will require oil companies to take a reasonable share of their record-breaking windfall profits and use it to provide direct relief worth $500 for an individual and $1,000 for a married couple. The relief would be delivered as quickly as possible to help families cope with the rising price of gasoline, food and other necessities. The rebates would be fully paid for with five years of a windfall profits tax on record oil company profits... The Obama energy rebates will: offset the entire increase in gas prices for a working family over the next four months; or pay for the entire increase in winter heating bills for a typical family in a cold-weather state. [4]
McCain in July 2008, on his opposition to a windfall profits tax on oil:
"Unlike Senator Obama, I do not believe that raising taxes is the answer to our economic problems There is no surer way to force jobs overseas than to raise taxes on businesses. The American people cannot afford economic policies that will take us backward." [5]
In 2007 Palin pushed for and enacted a major increase in state oil taxes - a step that has generated stunning new revenues for Alaska as oil prices have soared. Combined with other new and existing oil taxes, as well as royalties, the state's total oil revenue in the last fiscal year exceeded $10 billion - double the amount the state received the previous fiscal year. [1]
On September 5, 2008 Alaska's Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell announced the $3,269 check that every eligible man, woman and child in Alaska will receive, which includes the $1,200 windfall profit rebate Palin backed and was approved the previous month. Parnell on the $1,200 windfall profit rebate:
"The royalty dollars that flow through the state are the people's wealth. The $1,200 resource rebate goes to that philosophy." [2]
The top five oil companies -- Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon-Mobil, British Petrolium, and Royal Dutch Shell -- reported $123 billion in profits for last year. Exxon-Mobil said first-quarter net income rose to $10.9 billion, or $2.03 a share, from $9.28 billion, or $1.62, a year earlier.
Palin's oil tax increase is part of a larger global trend. High energy prices and the industry's difficulty in finding giant new oil fields has emboldened many nations, including market-friendly United Kingdom, home to oil giants British Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell, to raise oil taxes and royalty payments in recent years. [1]
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Will Obama's tax plan lower or raise taxes?
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Did Palin impose a windfall profits tax on Alaskan oil?
Did McCain say he doesn't understand economics as well as he should?
Get the Facts at McCain Fact Check
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[1] Gonzalez A & Bernton H. Windfall tax lets Alaska rake in billions from Big Oil. Seattle Times. August 10, 2008
[2] D'Oro, Rachel. Alaskans to receive $3,269 each. Anchorage Daily News. September 5, 2008
[3] Murphy, Kim. Palin gives and saves amid big Alaska surplus. Los Angeles Times. September 5, 2008
[4] Tapper, Jake. Obama's Proposed "Windfall Profits Tax. ABC News. August 5, 2008
[5] Sinderbrand, Rebecca. Obama's Proposed "Windfall Profits Tax. CNN. August 1, 2008
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