BP Announces Final Estimate Of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, But Are They Being Honest?

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On July 14th, oil giant BP announced that they had finally finished their calculations and the final estimate for costs of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill would likely hit $62 billion. This cost includes all of the settlements and lawsuits from individuals, lawsuits from cities and states, federal lawsuits, and civil penalties and cleanupย costs.

According to reports, the โ€œafter taxโ€ total is closer to $44 billion, still a massive sum to pay out for anyย company.

Nearly every article available discussing these payments deals with the business impacts and market value of the company. The Washington Post says that the company has lost 1/3 of their market size as a result of the spill, which was about $180 billion before theย disaster.

Lip service is paid to the victims of the spill and the long-lasting effects that the disaster had on the Gulf of Mexico, and one vital fact has been missing completely from the analysis: Taxpayers are the ones who are really getting screwed with this deal.

As I wrote back in April 2016, 75% of the fines and penalties incurred by BP are going to be tax deductible. At least $20 billion of the fines levied by federal and local governments, including Clean Water Act violations, is subject to the 75% tax write off loophole, and it is incredibly likely that BP accountants and lawyers will be able to manipulate the system in such a way that allows the remaining $40 billion to be subject to some form of tax writeย off.

We know that in 2012, before any of the settlements or lawsuits or fines had even been finalized, BP was able to write off $11.2 billion of their cleanup costs from the 2010 disaster, so that brings the grand total of โ€œout-of-pocketโ€ expenses down to about $29ย billion.

At the time, the government and BP were working out a deal so that the settlement funds would be paid out through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment program, which would have allowed the company to write off almost all of their payments for anything related to the oil spill. That deal was finalized in October 2015, paving the way for BPโ€™s massive taxย holiday.

So be wary of the headlines. Yes, BP is going to pay billions of dollars for their role in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 people and destroyed the Gulf of Mexico. But U.S. taxpayers will also be forking over billions of dollars to help ease the financial burden on the fossil fuel company, the media just conveniently ignored thatย part.

Image credit:ย Vessels sprayย waterย on flames caused by flare shooting off theย โ€œDiscoverer Enterpriseโ€ barge set up after theย Deepwaterย Horizonย rig exploded. ยฉ 2010 Julieย Dermansky

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Farron Cousins is the executive editor of The Trial Lawyer magazine, and his articles have appeared on The Huffington Post, Alternet, and The Progressive Magazine. He has worked for the Ring of Fire radio program with hosts Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Mike Papantonio, and Sam Seder since August 2004, and is currently the co-host and producer of the program. He also currently serves as the co-host of Ring of Fire on Free Speech TV, a daily program airing nightly at 8:30pm eastern. Farron received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of West Florida in 2005 and became a member of American MENSA in 2009.ย  Follow him on Twitterย @farronbalanced.

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