“And our efforts will not come at any cost to the taxpayers.” – BP advertisement, New York Times, June 2, 2010

BP’s assurance that cleaning up the Gulf oil spill will “not come at any cost to the taxpayers” conveniently ignores the billions the company receives every year in the form of taxpayer subsidies. Even though BP’s first quarter profits averaged $66 million a day, American taxpayers subsidize it and the other large oil companies through an array of tax incentives and other giveaways.

“BP is one of the most profitable companies in the world, yet it still enjoys corporate welfare handouts from the federal government,” said Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. “Hopefully this spill will draw our attention not only to the poor oversight of the oil industry, but the generous tax subsidies these highly profitable companies get for simply doing business.”

Since the turn of the century, BP and their big oil counterparts have enjoyed billions in subsidies and spent millions lobbying Congress to keep their lucrative deal. BP has spent over $40 million in the last five years on lobbying efforts– helping maintain royalty holidays for Gulf leases that could cost taxpayers more than $50 billion and keep liability caps for damages from oil spills low.

Right now BP is on the hook for a meager $75 million in damages for the economic fallout of the Gulf spill. And tackling just a handful of the many subsidies for the oil and gas industry could save taxpayers more than $30 billion in the next five years.