[central_va]

A tax on oil imports would help balance the budget, reduce the trade deficit and promote the domestic oil industry. WIN - WIN - WIN.

Another plus is that an oil import duty would give political cover for further income tax rate reduction. Another WIN.

[bert]

Balderdascious drivel.

After watching the President’s news conference this morning it was plain to me that you need to move to India where you would be intellectually comfortable.

[nathanbedford]

A tax on imported oil would not prove to be an unalloyed positive. In addition to the effects you suggest it would:

Drive up the price of oil;

effectively impose a tax on consumers of petroleum;

tend to have the effect any tax has on the economy, to constrict it;

prove a check on economic growth because of increased costs of transportation, utilities etc;

encourage inefficiency in the oil industry for want of competition;

disguise the cost of a tax increase as a tax cut;

ultimately, increase the national debt;

distort the most efficient allocation of resources throughout the economy by the free market because of government intervention;