Spill Roundup: BP Plans to Deduct Oil Spill Costs Against Taxes

摘要

Oil giant BP said it plans to offset all of its costs from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill against its tax bill, reducing future contribu- tions to US tax coffers by almost $10 billion. BP took a pretax charge of $32.2 billion against its second-quarter earnings, for the cost of capping the well, cleaning up the spill, compensating victims and paying gov- ernment fines. However, the net impact on BP’s bottom line will only be $22 billion, with the company recording a $10 billion tax credit, most of which will be borne by the US taxpayer, a spokesman said. BP’s UK tax bill will also be reduced, BP added. Ana- lysts said BP could prompt more public and political anger in the US by deducting all of the costs, and especially the expected fines BP will face. In 2006, airplane maker Boeing decided to forego seeking a tax deduction for any of a $615 million settlement with the government in 2006 over ethics charges, un- der pressure from lawmakers. BP could now face similar pressure.