[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 838 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 838

   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose a fee on the 
        importation of crude oil or refined petroleum products.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 4, 1993

Mr. Jefferson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose a fee on the 
        importation of crude oil or refined petroleum products.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Energy Security Tax Act''.

SEC. 2. FEE ON IMPORTED CRUDE OIL OR REFINED PETROLEUM PRODUCTS.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle E of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
(relating to alcohol, tobacco, and certain other excise taxes) is 
amended by adding at the end thereof the following new chapter:

   ``CHAPTER 55--IMPORTED CRUDE OIL, REFINED PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, AND 
                PETROCHEMICAL FEEDSTOCKS OR DERIVATIVES

                              ``Sec. 5886. Imposition of tax.
                              ``Sec. 5887. Definitions.
                              ``Sec. 5888. Registration.
                              ``Sec. 5889. Procedures; returns; 
                                        penalties.
                              ``Sec. 5890. Adjustment for inflation.

``SEC. 5886. IMPOSITION OF TAX.

    ``(a) Imposition of Tax.--In addition to any other tax imposed 
under this title, an excise tax is hereby imposed on--
            ``(1) the first sale within the United States of--
                    ``(A) any crude oil,
                    ``(B) any refined petroleum product, or
                    ``(C) any petrochemical feedstock or petrochemical 
                derivative,
        that has been imported into the United States, and
            ``(2) the use within the United States of--
                    ``(A) any crude oil,
                    ``(B) any refined petroleum product, or
                    ``(C) any petrochemical feedstock or petrochemical 
                derivative,
        that has been imported into the United States if no tax has 
        been imposed with respect to such crude oil or refined 
        petroleum product prior to such use.
    ``(b) Rate of Tax.--
            ``(1) Crude oil.--For purposes of paragraphs (1)(A) and 
        (2)(A) of subsection (a) the rate of tax shall be the excess, 
        if any, of--
                    ``(A) $25 per barrel, over
                    ``(B) the most recently published average price of 
                a barrel of internationally traded oil.
            ``(2) Refined petroleum product.--For purposes of 
        paragraphs (1)(B) and (2)(B) of subsection (a), the rate of tax 
        shall be the excess, if any, of--
                    ``(A) $27.50 per barrel, over
                    ``(B) the most recently published average price of 
                a barrel of internationally traded oil.
            ``(3) Petrochemical feedstock or petrochemical 
        derivative.--For purposes of paragraphs (1)(C) and (2)(C) of 
        subsection (a), the rate of tax shall be equal to the rate of 
        tax determined under paragraph (2) of this subsection, except 
        that `barrel equivalent of crude oil feedstocks used in the 
        manufacture of such petrochemical feedstocks or petrochemical 
        derivative' shall be substituted for `barrel' in paragraph 
        (2)(A) of this subsection.
            ``(4) Fractional parts of barrels.--In the case of a 
        fraction of a barrel, the tax imposed by subsection (a) shall 
        be the same fraction of the amount of such tax imposed on the 
        whole barrel.
    ``(c) Determination of Average Price.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, the 
        average price of internationally traded oil with respect to any 
        week during which the tax under subsection (a) is imposed shall 
        be determined by the Secretary and published in the Federal 
        Register on the first day of such week.
            ``(2) Basis of determination.--For purposes of paragraph 
        (1), the Secretary, after consultation with the Administrator 
        of the Energy Information Administration of the Department of 
        Energy, shall determine the average price of internationally 
        traded oil for the preceding 4 weeks, pursuant to the formula 
        for determining such international price as is used in 
        publishing the Weekly Petroleum Status Report and as is in 
        effect on the date of enactment of this section.
    ``(d) Liability for Payment of Tax.--
            ``(1) Sales.--The taxes imposed by subsection (a)(1) shall 
        be paid by the first person who sells the crude oil, refined 
        petroleum product, petrochemical feedstock, or petrochemical 
        derivative within the United States.
            ``(2) Use.--The taxes imposed by subsection (a)(2) shall be 
        paid by the person who uses the crude oil, refined petroleum 
        product, petrochemical feedstock, or petrochemical derivative.

``SEC. 5887. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For purposes of this chapter--
            ``(1) Crude oil.--The term `crude oil' means crude oil 
        other than crude oil produced from a well located in the United 
        States or a possession of the United States.
            ``(2) Barrel.--The term `barrel' means 42 United States 
        gallons.
            ``(3) Refined petroleum product.--The term `refined 
        petroleum product' shall have the same meaning given to such 
        term by section 3(5) of the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act 
        of 1973 (15 U.S.C. 752(5)).
            ``(4) Export.--The terms `export' and `exported' include 
        shipment to a possession of the United States.

``SEC. 5888. REGISTRATION.

    ``Every person subject to tax under section 5886 shall, before 
incurring any liability for tax under such section, register with the 
Secretary.

``SEC. 5889. PROCEDURES; RETURNS; PENALTIES.

    ``For purposes of this title, any reference to the tax imposed by 
section 5886 shall be treated, except to the extent provided by the 
Secretary by regulation where such treatment would be inappropriate, in 
the same manner as the tax imposed by section 4986 was treated 
immediately before its repeal by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness 
Act of 1988.''.

``SEC. 5890. ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.

    ``The $25 per barrel price referred to in section 5886(b)(1) and 
the $27.50 per barrel price referred to in section 5886(b)(2) shall be 
changed during any calendar year after 1993 by the percentage if any by 
which the Consumer Price Index changed during the preceding calendar 
year, as defined in section (1)(f)(4) of title 26 of the United States 
Code.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of chapters for subtitle E is 
amended by adding at the end thereof the following new item:

                              ``Chapter 55. Imported crude oil, refined 
                                        petroleum products, and 
                                        petrochemical feedstocks or 
                                        derivatives.''.
    (c) Deductibility of Imported Oil Tax.--The first sentence of 
section 164(a) (relating to deductions for taxes) is amended by 
inserting after paragraph (5) the following new paragraph:
            ``(6) The imported oil taxes imposed by section 5886.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to sales and uses of imported crude oil, imported 
refined petroleum products, petrochemical feedstocks, or petrochemical 
derivatives on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

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