Taxpayers subsidizing BP Negligence?

Why should American taxpayers pick up the tab for BP's negligence?

BP is a foreign corporation that plafced the bottom line ahead of human life and the environment.

The environmental destruction BP caused will never be un-done.

PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME:

Last week, a federal judge rejected oil giant BP's move to reduce its $13.7-billion fine for the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. Even so, BP is still not paying the full cost of cleanup—they've already written off 80% of their payments as tax deductions.¹ Can you add your name and ask President Obama to tell the Justice Department to end this practice and make sure BP claims no more write-offs for its wrongdoings?

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Dear MoveOn member,

I'm Anya Vanecek from U.S.PIRG, and I started a petition to President Barack Obama, which says:

Settlement payments for corporate misconduct should not just be a cost of doing business. Don't let BP claim any more tax deductions for the Gulf oil spill.

BP has paid about $42 billion to address the Deepwater Horizon disaster since oil first started spilling in 2010. About 80% of those payments have qualified for tax deductions, effectively shifting the cost of BP’s "gross negligence" onto taxpayers.¹

The practice of writing off settlement agreements is both legal and common—but it doesn't have to be.

Should BP be able to write off its payments made to address the Gulf Coast oil spill? Should Wall Street banks be allowed to deduct their settlements for mortgage abuses as business as usual?

Tell the Justice Department to allow no tax deductibility for BP in the upcoming Gulf spill settlement and to make other future settlements for corporate misconduct nondeductible as well.

These write-offs send the wrong message. They diminish the value of settlements as a deterrent to future misbehavior. They are also costly for the public, because taxpayers must make up for the lost revenue through cuts to public programs, higher tax rates, or more federal debt. When settlements become write-offs, Americans pay both for the cost of corporate misbehavior and to subsidize the tax write-offs.

It's time to demand an end to this practice: no more write-offs for corporate wrongdoing.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Anya

Source:

1. "When Company Is Fined, Taxpayers Often Share Bill," The New York Times, February 3, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=303281&id=109326-3735812-tyvU_Rx&t=2

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