What Is a 'Windfall' Profit?

[Terri]

Wall Street Journal

The "windfall profits" tax is back, with Barack Obama stumping again to apply it to a handful of big oil companies. Which raises a few questions: What is a "windfall" profit anyway? How does it differ from your everyday, run of the mill profit? Is it some absolute number, a matter of return on equity or sales -- or does it merely depend on who earns it?

Enquiring entrepreneurs want to know. Unfortunately, Mr. Obama's "emergency" plan, announced on Friday, doesn't offer any clarity. To pay for "stimulus" checks of $1,000 for families and $500 for individuals, the Senator says government would take "a reasonable share" of oil company profits.

More (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121780636275808495 .html?mod=opinion_ma in_review_and_outloo ks)

[Amawalk John]

I think the (government subsidized) corn farmers and ethanol producers make more than a 7% after tax profit .... so does the populist Bill O'Reilly, Maybe they should "contribute" their after tax income that exceeds 5%. Also anyone who made more than 6%pa when they sold their house.

sarcasm/off

[righton]

A windfall profit is anything the government hasn't yet gotten its grubby hands on yet.

L&L

[FlaJim]

A windfall profit is what the federal and state governments have reaped from the current price of fuel. It's roughly double what the oil companies pulled in but you won't see that reported in the MSM.

Any idiotic notion of taxing oil companies' profits is first of all unconstitutional. Even if the nitwit Dems found a way to do it, the companies wold simply add it into the price at the pump. contrary to Hussein's naive thinking, they're not sitting on a huge wad of cash. those profits are going to ordinary Americans who own (or whose pension plans own) shares.

[Rox51]

Hey Obama, how about taxing the windfall profits everywhere to be seen in Hollywood?

Brangelina just got $14 million to let People Magazine take pictures of their latest illegitimate offspring.

According to TV Guide, Charlie Sheen makes about $19 million for "Two and A Half Men".

Speaking of windfall profits, Obama has made about $300,000 taxpayer dollars in salary since he was elected to the US Senate. Since he hasn't done a dang thing to earn that money, I'd say that it's all a windfall profit.

[MrJLDoug]

What Is a 'Windfall' Profit? It's what is left over after the extortion of the IRS is completed and Congress begins.

[Bigdog]

Speaking of windfall profits, Obama has made about $300,000 taxpayer dollars in salary since he was elected to the US Senate. Since he hasn't done a dang thing to earn that money, I'd say that it's all a windfall profit.

That hits the nail on the head!

A 'windfall profit' is usually considered to be income that required no particular effort or investment. That sure doesn't apply to 'big oil', but is fits BO's senate pay to a T.

[Luckyme]

Windfall profits, that seems to fit the majority of our Congress critters.

We do have a few who actually work for the American people, but most work to enrich themselves.

[candles]

Does this mean any company such as Dreamworks, Apple, Microsoft, Bank of America, etc. when they make more profit then they did the year before, has to pay a 'Windfall' Profit tax?

[schillerbjr]

See the 18.4 cents a gallon the federal government takes on every gallon of gasoline pumped in America.




The "GREATEST" windfall profit of "ALL"!!