Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on the windfall profit from taxable crude oil removed during each taxable period. Sets the amount of such tax at: (1) 75 percent of the windfall profit on each barrel of tier 1 oil and tier 2 oil; and (2) 60 percent of such profit on each barrel of tier 3 oil. Defines: (1) tier 1 oil as domestic crude oil which would have been subject to the lower tier ceiling price if the pre- June, 1979 controls had continued; (2) tier 2 oil as domestic crude oil which would have been subject to the upper tier ceiling price if the pre-June, 1979 controls had continued; and (3) tier 3 oil as stripper oil, oil from marginal properties, or other oil which is neither tier 1 or tier 2 oil. Exempts from such windfall tax newly discovered oil, incremental tertiary oil, heavy crude oil, and oil produced on a property after December, 1984, which is in excess of a base level computed according to a specified formula. Defines windfall profit as the excess of the removal price of a barrel of crude oil over the sum of the adjusted base price of such barrel and the amount of the severance tax adjustment computed according to a prescribed formula. Requires the purchaser of a barrel of taxable crude oil to collect the tax on it from the producer. Requires the purchaser (or the operator of the well from which the barrel is purchased, if purchaser and operator so elect) to furnish the taxpayer- producer with a monthly statement containing: (1) the amount of the oil so purchased; (2) the removal price of such oil; (3) the base price and adjusted base price; (4) the amount of the taxpayer's liability for such oil; and (5) any other information the Secretary of Energy may require. Requires the taxpayer-producer to keep such records as the Secretary may require. Prescribes criminal penalties for willful failure to furnish the information required in such monthly statement. Requires that similar information be furnished to partners and to beneficiaries of estates and trusts, but prescribes no particular criminal penalty for willful failure to do so. Establishes in the Treasury of the United States the Energy Trust Fund, for deposit of appropriations equivalent to the amount of windfall taxes collected under this Act. Requires investment of a portion of such fund in interest-bearing obligations of the United States only. Directs the President to report to Congress not later than January 1, 1983, on the effect of decontrol of oil prices and the windfall profit tax on: (1) domestic oil production; (2) foreign oil imports; (3) profits of the oil industry; (4) inflation; (5) employment; (6) economic growth; (7) Federal revenues; and (8) national security.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on September 10, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 10, 1979: Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JOHN CHAFEE (R-RI) introduced it on September 10, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 10, 1979, 17167 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17167 days ago, on September 10, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers