Quote:

britneyspearsatemyshorts said:
the oil companies are gouging not the local guy. and ive proved taxes are almost zero factor. you take away the tax and it goes to the oil company not us. this is proven by visual fact, not your conjecture.



Way back over a year ago, when this thread started, I posted a chart listing the various factors that contribute to the cost of a gallon of gas.



Taxes were one factor. Other factors included the cost of distribution, marketing and refining, as well as the cost of the crude oil itself.

Over the past few months taxes have remained stable. So, therefore, you are correct, insofar as taxes aren't driving the current price hikes.

However, as noted above, there is more to the cost of gasoline than taxes and profits. Therefore, the mere fact that taxes are stable doesn't mean that profits are the only reason for the rise.

Fox example, on the factors noted above was refining costs. Recently, there was a spike in refining costs, because the government mandated the refineries switch to a different mix of gas/ethanol and because a number of refineries were shut down by Katrina.

Another factor was the rise in cost of crude oil. With China using more crude, for example, there was less oil to go around. Less supply means higher costs.

Also you need to remember that much of the cost of crude oil goes to the suppliers. The suppliers are not the oil companies, but OPEC (for example). So telling, say, Exxon to lower its prices doesn't mean a thing since we can't tell OPEC to lower the price it charges Exxon.

Getting back to taxes: The reason taxes are important is that they are the one part of the price that IS set by the government and, therefore, the one part of the price the government can immediately control. The other factors are the ones noted above.

Granted, if the government cut all the taxes and the price stayed exactly the same, then you might have proof of "gouging." However, until you eliminate all the variables in any equation, not just one, any conclusion you arrive at is, at best, conjecture.