[20200511]IN11381_低油价可能会带来某些税收优惠但不会带来其他优惠.pdf

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Low Oil Prices May Trigger Certain Tax Benefits, but Not Others Molly F. Sherlock Specialist in Public Finance Phillip Brown Specialist in Energy Policy May 11, 2020 Benchmark crude oil pricessuch as U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI)have steeply declined since January 2020. Oil market oversupply, the result of COVID-19 travel restrictions and increased global supply levels in March and April, has exerted downward pressure on prices. Although the duration of low oil prices is uncertain, price levels for the remainder of 2020 may largely be a function of demand recovery, supply adjustments, and return to a balanced market. Energy Information Administration (EIA) price forecasts, as of April 2020, indicate that WTI spot prices may average just over $29 per barrel during calendar year 2020, less than half the price at the beginning of the year. Some federal oil production tax incentives are triggered when a reference price of crude oilestimated and published annually by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)drops below a statutory oil price level. The reference price is an “estimate of the annual average wellhea