Tax Those Oil Companies! Oh, wait, no...

"Who really owns oil companies?, asks Diana Furchtgott-Roth. Probably you, if you have any kind of retirement account, public or private.

Contrary to popular belief, only about one percent of the shares of the five major oil companies are held by officers and directors of these companies. The rest is held by institutional investors and individual Americans, mostly in retirement accounts.

One example: Oil and gas accounted for 21% of the investment returns to the New York State Employees' Retirement System and the Public School Employees' Retirement System.

See her Manhattan Institute issue paper for a list of the real owners of the largest 5 oil companies, and think twice about proposals to single them out for higher taxes. The one hurt could be you.

Raising taxes on a large and productive industry such as oil and natural gas would have widespread effects throughout the economy. It is not just the sticker shock for motorists who already recoil from $5 per gallon gasoline prices. Higher taxes on oil and gas will reduce investment in the industry, lessen economic activity and employment. Even those who do not work or invest directly in the oil and gas industries would be adversely affected.