Oil Companies Windfall Tax a Breeze

The windfall profits tax on major oil companies, enacted last spring, has not proven such a windfall after all. The government has actually received only $6.8 billion to date. That's a far cry from the $10.9 billion a Congressional report had predicted at the time the tax measure was passed, testified William J. Anderson, director of the general government division of the U.S. Government Accounting Office, before a House subcommittee in April.

Anderson said the discrepancy may be partially due to the fact that the 1 RS has not yet processed all calendar-year 1980 tax returns and that some annual statements of oil purchases to their shareholders were not required until March 31. Even with these factors considered, however, Anderson said the IRS expects to be "about a billion dollars short of the Congressional estimate."