Valley Firms Push California Oil Tax

isabotage3 writes, "Still smarting from California's recent enactment of emissions caps, the oil industry is confronting another assault in the Golden State — this one bankrolled in part by Silicon Valley tycoons pushing to fund conservation and alternative-energy initiatives with a tax on oil output. Slightly more than half the money raised by the Prop 87 tax would be earmarked to help cut gasoline and diesel use. Another 27 percent would be put toward alternative-energy research at California universities. The remainder would be used to help start-ups, retrain energy workers in new fields, and for administration." Oil companies claim the backers of Prop 87, some of them venture capitalists, would profit from state money flowing into the alternative-energy projects they are funding.

Comments

No on Prop 87?

[Rupan]

I live in Silicon Valley. I often hear anti-prop 87 ads on the radio and TV. One day as I was driving to work I decided to listen to the ad carefully. At the end, as required by law, they state their sponsors. They (quickly) list a number of individuals, the last 2 or 3 of which are actually oil companies. It is for this reason that I decided to look into the issue. This tax will be levied on the oil companies. They will be forbidden by the law to pass the cost on to consumers, so this will NOT raise gas prices. So, to recap: 1) oil companies have to pay their fair share to improve the environment; 2) the tax cannot be passed on to cunsumers; 3) This will benefit researchers and universities Do not be fooled by the anti-prop 87 propoganda.