Democrat lawmakers have introduced a bill seeking to impose higher taxes on oil companies for what they claim are “windfall” profits made from “cartel pricing” strategies, even as the Biden administration keeps enforcing policies which negatively affect the sector.
The “Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act” was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and his Democratic colleagues. It aims to “crack down on profiteering by Big Oil and return the industry’s excessive gains to working people,” according to a press release on Feb. 14. Five of the largest publicly traded oil companies—BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies—have reported profits totaling around $264.3 billion in fiscal 2022.
