Bill > HR1813

This bill, the Gas Price Relief Act of 2011, aims to provide relief from high gas prices by distributing revenues generated from changes to the tax code affecting large oil companies to licensed drivers. Specifically, it mandates that the Secretary of the Treasury distribute all revenues raised by the Act equally to every holder of a valid driver's license. The bill also amends the Internal Revenue Code to require "covered large oil companies"—defined as major integrated oil companies or those with over $50 million in gross receipts annually—to amortize their geological and geophysical expenditures over seven years, meaning they can only deduct a portion of these costs each year for seven years instead of all at once. Furthermore, it denies several tax benefits to any taxpayer that is not a "small, independent oil and gas company," including tax credits for marginal wells and enhanced oil recovery, the ability to immediately deduct intangible drilling and development costs for gas and geothermal wells, percentage depletion allowances, deductions for qualified tertiary injectant expenses, exemptions from passive activity loss limitations, and deductions for income from domestic production activities. Major integrated oil companies are also prohibited from using the last-in, first-out (LIFO) accounting method, which can affect the valuation of inventory. Finally, the bill limits or denies foreign tax credits and tax deferrals for "dual capacity taxpayers"—individuals or companies subject to a foreign country's levy while also receiving specific economic benefits from that country—on income related to foreign oil and gas.