By now, you would think any corporate CEO appearing before a committee with California Representative Katie Porter would know to be prepared, because Porter will be. But it happened again Tuesday, when Mark Murphy, president of Strata Production Co., a New Mexico oil and gas outfit, appeared before the House Natural Resources subcommittee on oversight, which Rep. Porter now chairs.
During their exchange, Murphy tried to tell Porter that the idea that the oil and gas industry was getting a tax break was a “misconception.”
Porter wasn’t having any of that, and she didn’t even need her whiteboard to school him.
“You do benefit from special rules,” Porter said, after interrupting him. “There’s a special tax rule for intangible drilling costs that does not apply to other kinds of expenses that businesses have. You get to deduct 70% of your costs immediately, and other businesses have to amortize their expenses over their entire profit stream. So please don’t patronize me by telling me that the oil and gas industry doesn’t have any special tax provisions. Because if you would like that to be the rule, I would be happy to have Congress deliver.”
That one’s going to sting for a bit.
The lesson here is, if you get called to answer questions from Rep. Porter, be prepared. Because it’s guaranteed she will be.
Watch the clip above to see her at work. The real smoke begins at :33 in.
A Big Oil exec told me I had a "misconception" about a special tax break polluters get that other businesses don't.
So, after explaining the deduction to him, I offered to write it out of the tax code if that what he wants. Just let me know! pic.twitter.com/ML25PMnrg5
— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) March 9, 2021