It currently is stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Meanwhile, despite President George W. Bush s call for expanding domestic energy supplies, conservation and development of alternative fuels and technologies, the United States likely will remain reliant on foreign oil for many years. In testimony before Congress in late April, the American Petroleum Institute s chief economist, John Felmy, noted that the United States already imports about 57 percent of the oil it consumes. Bush spoke out at the beginning of May, saying one way to ease the burden of the rising cost of energy is to give U.S. citizens a tax cut. The president was talking about income taxes, but OPEC oil ministers say that oil is overtaxed by consumer states and then the resulting high prices are blamed on them.
Western governments change the price by loading it with taxes.
If governments really want to lower oil prices they will cut taxes on petroleum products. In 2000, when crude-oil prices increased, the cost of oil comprised 46 percent of the price and taxes 28 percent. Clearly, a tax cut would provide some relief. That may even happen. And, as OPEC does not seem likely to increase production, Secretary of Energy Abraham also is talking to OPEC ministers about lowering oil prices.