Taxing Energy in the United States: Which Fuels Does the Tax Code Favor?

by Gilbert E. Metcalf

- This report offers a comprehensive overview of the energy-related provisions of the U.S. tax code and their estimated impact on tax revenues. More important, this report indicates where the U.S. tax regime as a whole is likely to direct energy investment. This paper builds on other work on effective tax rates by including in its analysis production and investment tax credits appearing in the code as well as depletion allowances reserved for the petroleum and gas sectors. It also considers energy-specific tax provisions that most previous analyses have not taken into account.

Metcalf, G.E. (2009). "Taxing Energy in the United States: Which Fuels Does the Tax Code Favor?" Center for Energy Policy and the Environment at the Manhattan Institute, Report 4, Jan 2009.