Democrats’ oil import tax would violate Biden pledge, conservative group says

Democrats’ plan to reinstate a 27-year-old fee on oil imports represents a violation of a pledge by President Joe Biden not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 per year, according to the conservative Americans for Tax Reform. 

The proposal to levy a 16.4-cents-per-barrel tax on crude oil and other imported petroleum products is included in the $433 billion tax and climate bill that could see a Senate vote this week. The tax “will be paid by consumers in the form of higher gas and energy costs,” the Washington-based group said in a statement Monday. The group also noted that it’s been only a matter of weeks since gasoline prices were at a record high.  

The Superfund tax would be used to help pay for the clean-up of hazardous waste sites. The levy, which previously stood at 9.7 cents per barrel until it lapsed at the end of 1995, would be indexed to inflation under the plan announced last week by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin. It could raise almost $12 billion, according to a congressional estimate. 

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.