Oil Spill Liability Tax Effective March 1st

A tax extenders package was included in the recently-passed budget bill. One tax provision important to petroleum marketers is a prospective renewal of the Oil Spill Liability Tax (OSLT) effective on March 1, 2018 through Dec. 31, 2018. The 9 cents per barrel OSLT tax is imposed on crude oil at the refinery gate. Proceeds from the OSLT go into a trust fund used by the Coast Guard to pay for clean-up after accidents like oil spills. PMAA has been fighting against the tax being applied retroactively so the March 1 effective date is welcome news to petroleum marketers. This is also good news because suppliers who continued to charge the tax even when it expired have indicated they will reimburse jobbers if the tax isn’t applied retroactively. Marketers are encouraged to reach out to their suppliers individually to see how they will handle the reinstatement of the OSLT.