Taxpayer Costs The bulk of government assistance for energy has been directed to the nation's most profitable and dirtiest energy sources. For example, between 1948 and 1998, the federal government spent $111.5 billion on energy research and development programs. Of this amount, 60 percent, or $66 billion was dedicated to civilian nuclear energy research, and 23 percent, or $26 billion, was directed to fossil fuel energy research. This year alone, the federal government will spend at least $1.5 billion on fossil fuel and civilian nuclear research programs.
In addition to research programs, the federal government maintains a variety of production subsidies at a huge cost to taxpayers and the environment. Companies mining uranium on federal lands pay no royalties. Oil and gas companies drilling on public lands have underpaid royalties by an estimated $66 million a year.
The federal tax code is also riddled with loopholes that give special tax benefits to mining, oil and gas companies to deduct many of the costs of doing business at taxpayer expense. There are more than $14.7 billion in federal tax credits that benefit the production of fossil and nuclear fuel. For instance, coal companies are required to reclaim mining areas after the mine is depleted, but they can deduct the cost of reclaiming the mine before actually cleaning up the site. Oil and gas companies are able to deduct the cost of exploration and development of a claim at an accelerated rate. These tax breaks cost the Treasury and taxpayers billions of dollars every year, while lining the pockets of these often-profitable corporations.
Introduction