How Much Tax Does Big Oil Actually Pay?

(NEWSER) - In times like these, everyone’s got problems. Exxon and Chevron? Finding safe places to stash $40 billion they stockpiled while oil prices were stratospheric last summer. “The biggest challenge we’ve had is making sure all the cash is there every morning,” Exxon’s CEO tells Bloomberg, adding of his treasurer, “I tell Don he has to count every dollar before he goes to bed.” More»

Quite a bit—but it likely won't happen

(NEWSER) - Warren Buffett made waves yesterday when he told the federal government to stop "coddling" him and other wealthy Americans and raise taxes on the rich. His plan would roll back the Bush tax cuts on people who earn more than $1 million and on capital gains and dividends income, and would close the loophole that allows a lower tax rate for hedge fund managers. But how much would it actually help? Quite a bit, writes David Kocieniewski in the New York Times : "The tax increase on all three fronts would generate as much as $500 billion in new revenue over the next decade." More»

Let's have some real 'shared sacrifice'

(NEWSER) - Washington keeps talking about “shared sacrifice”—but it's not asking the mega-rich to join in, writes Warren Buffett in the New York Times . “While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks.” It seems that lawmakers “feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species.” The investor offers himself as a case in point: Last year, his taxes amounted to just 17.4% of his taxable income, while everyone else in his office paid an average of 36%. More»

Company expects to get 700M barrels

(NEWSER) - Exxon announced the discovery of two oil wells and a natural gas deposit in the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico that could collectively contain 700 million barrels. Two of the finds had been made in 2009 and 2010, but the company waited until today to unveil the amount of oil inside, reports the Wall Street Journal . The third well was found after the lift of the deep-water drilling moratorium imposed following last year's Deepwater Horizon disaster. More»

Editors see huge disparity between businesses, ordinary Americans

(NEWSER) - Turns out, last year was a pretty good one for US businesses. Total revenue for Fortune 500 companies jumped 10.5% to $10.8 trillion, while profits surged 81%. "We've rarely seen such a stark gulf between the fortunes of the 500 and those of ordinary Americans," write the editors at Fortune . Walmart finished on top for the second year in a row, though Exxon had bigger profits: More»