Rep. Jo Bonner bill would block BP tax breaks
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Rep. Jo Bonner of Mobile (AP photo)
BP is currently negotiating with the federal government to settle civil and criminal penalties as a result of the catastrophe.
AL.com reported last month that the settlement could be structured to shift more of the fines away from the Clean Water Act toward a Natural Resource Damages assessment, which could save the British company hundreds of millions of dollars in federal taxes.
Bonner said the bill, introduced Oct. 26 during a pro forma session of the House of Representatives, was aimed at blocking BP from getting "a tax break for fouling our beaches and polluting the Gulf."
Bonner's office said in a statement that the legislation would amend the trade and business expenses section of the Internal Revenue Code to disallow any deduction for compensatory payments made to “any person or government entity on account of the April 20, 2010, explosion and sinking of the offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon.”
“More than two and half years after the worst man-made disaster to ever strike the Gulf Coast, BP is reportedly in final negotiations with the Justice Department that would allow the company to get a gigantic tax write-off for some of its penalty payments,” Bonner said. “The mere thought that Eric Holder’s Justice Department would cut any deal that allows BP to benefit from its recklessness, irresponsible and deadly behavior is simply outrageous.”
