Inside Bay Area - IBA - Argus - News

Inside Bay Area - IBA - Argus - News: "Democrats are focusing more on taking things away from the industry. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., proposed legislation this week that would repeal all tax breaks for oil drilling and production — about $10 billion over the next five years.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., proposed a measure that would force energy companies to pay royalties to the government on all oil and gas they produce on federal leases in the Gulf of Mexico, if the price of crude oil is above $55 a barrel. At the moment, some energy companies are allowed to receive 'royalty relief' that is expected to total about $7 billion over the next five years.

The mounting suspicion of oil companies was apparent in a letter to the IRS from Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, the committee's senior Democrat.

The two lawmakers demanded that the IRS allow them to review the past five years of tax returns filed by the nation's 15 biggest oil companies. The senators pointedly noted an 'extremely lucrative retirement plan by one oil and gas industry executive' — a reference to Lee Raymond, the former chairman of Exxon Mobil, who received $389 million in compensation upon retiring last year."