{"692611":{"#nid":"692611","#data":{"type":"news","title":"As Oil Profits Skyrocket, Calls for Windfall Taxes Rise","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBy \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/tibor-besedes-2656327\u0022 rel=\u0022author\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETibor Besede\u0161\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E, Professor of Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen Chevron reported its \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/chevron-records-highest-quarterly-profit-six-years-beating-analyst-estimates-2026-07-31\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003Ehighest quarterly profit in six years\u003C\/a\u003E on July 31, 2026, it was just one detail in a larger picture: Analyst firm Wood Mackenzie estimates the global oil and gas industry is on course for a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.woodmac.com\/press-releases\/wood-mackenzie-mid-year-outlook-oil-and-gas-industry-cash-rich-but-capital-cautious-as-nearly-half-a-trillion-dollar-windfall-fails-to-trigger-a-spending-surge\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003Ecash windfall of US$495 billion in 2026\u003C\/a\u003E. That\u2019s profit above and beyond what the industry expected before the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThree separate bills seeking to tax those profits are now in Congress, and President Donald Trump has even said the oil companies are \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/07\/trump-windfall-tax-big-oil-iran-war\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003Emaking too much money\u003C\/a\u003E.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=p4hJf78AAAAJ\u0026amp;hl=en\u0026amp;oi=ao\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003Eapplied microeconomist\u003C\/a\u003E, I am often asked how taxes affect economic activity. Economists have long held a more nuanced view of windfall taxes than either side of the current debate suggests. Advocates often make overly optimistic revenue projections, and opponents often overstate how much such a tax might discourage investment. A 1980s U.S. windfall-tax experiment is instructive on both counts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/as-oil-profits-skyrocket-calls-for-windfall-taxes-rise-288990\u0022\u003ERead Full Story on The Conversation\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Chevron reported its \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/chevron-records-highest-quarterly-profit-six-years-beating-analyst-estimates-2026-07-31\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003Ehighest quarterly profit in six years\u003C\/a\u003E on July 31, 2026, it was just one detail in a larger picture: Analyst firm Wood Mackenzie estimates the global oil and gas industry is on course for a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.woodmac.com\/press-releases\/wood-mackenzie-mid-year-outlook-oil-and-gas-industry-cash-rich-but-capital-cautious-as-nearly-half-a-trillion-dollar-windfall-fails-to-trigger-a-spending-surge\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003Ecash windfall of US$495 billion in 2026\u003C\/a\u003E. That\u2019s profit above and beyond what the industry expected before the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThree separate bills seeking to tax those profits are now in Congress, and President Donald Trump has even said the oil companies are \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/07\/trump-windfall-tax-big-oil-iran-war\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003Emaking too much money\u003C\/a\u003E.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=p4hJf78AAAAJ\u0026amp;hl=en\u0026amp;oi=ao\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003Eapplied microeconomist\u003C\/a\u003E, I am often asked how taxes affect economic activity. Economists have long held a more nuanced view of windfall taxes than either side of the current debate suggests. Advocates often make overly optimistic revenue projections, and opponents often overstate how much such a tax might discourage investment. A 1980s U.S. windfall-tax experiment is instructive on both counts.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"As an applied microeconomist, I am often asked how taxes affect economic activity. Economists have long held a more nuanced view of windfall taxes than either side of the current debate suggests. "}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-09-16 13:10:02","changed_gmt":"2026-09-16 13:10:02","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/as-oil-profits-skyrocket-calls-for-windfall-taxes-rise-288990","title":"Read Full Story on The Conversation"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}