Since fighting erupted in Eastern Europe earlier this year, oil companies have seen almost unbelievable high profits and now must start acting beyond their narrow self-interest, the US president said Monday.
Speaking alongside Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Treasury head Janet Yellen during an address on Monday, US President Joe Biden took the oil industry to task, accusing companies of reaping undue benefits from the conflict in Ukraine.
Biden is insisting that American oil companies must help lower prices for consumers and has vowed to impose new taxes to restrain the excess profits which, according to him, are the “windfall of war” and not because they’re doing something new or innovative.
Underscoring that they have a responsibility to act in the interest of their consumers, their community, and their country, the US president said that it’s time for these companies to stop war profiteering and announced that they are going to pay a higher tax on their excess profits and face other restrictions.
Explaining his decision, Biden presented some astonishing data on the earnings that oil giants like Shell and Exxon reported this year, which showed that Shell almost doubled its profit for the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year, recently announcing $9.5 billion profit.
The president went on to note the significant increase in Exxon’s profits too, pointing out that the company nearly tripled what it made last year, bringing in $18.7 billion in profits the last quarter. That’s the biggest increase in its 152-year history, Biden noted.
Biden’s threat with new taxes comes at a time of record-high inflation and surging consumer prices along with high energy prices and a little more than a week ahead of the midterm elections.
He did not specify exactly what the new taxes would entail but emphasized that in order to lower prices for consumers, companies must invest in the US by increasing production and refining capacity.
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