Corporate Tax Code Punishes Energy Industries, Rewards Utilities

[Geee]

Town Hall:

The New York Times published an interesting dive into information on the corporate income tax code this weekend, looking at the taxes paid by S&P 500 companies, both individually and by industry. The result? Utilities companies - power, water, energy - reaped the most rewards of favorable political treatment in the tax code. Who was punished the most? Traditional energy companies like Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips, and the insurance industry.

The average tax rate paid by utilities companies sat at just 12% when the statutory tax rate is 35%. Energy companies actually paid a 37% tax rate due to a few companies losing money but still paying taxes. Similarly, the insurance industry was massively hit by companies like AIG that took a loss and still paid a lar