International Comparison of Depreciation Rules
and Tax Rates for Selected Energy Investments

U.S. Tax Depreciation Rules for Energy Investment Less Favorable than Many Other Countries

Prepared by The Quantitative Economics and Statistics Group, Ernst & Young LLP
for The American Council for Capital Formation
May 2, 2007

Read the Full Report (PDF)

A new study commissioned by the ACCF compares depreciation rates and effective tax rates for various energy investments for the United States and eleven foreign countries and finds that the U.S. generally has less favorable tax depreciation rules and higher tax rates for several key energy investments than many other countries, including a number of the U.S.’s major trading partners. The U.S. federal tax code not only hinders much needed energy investments but also makes it harder to slow the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. The study was released at a Capitol Hill briefing keynoted by Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Representative Jim Mattheson (D-UT) on May 2, 2007.

Click here to read the full study, “International Comparison
of Tax Depreciation Rules for Selected Energy Investments.”

Click here to see an Executive Summary of the study.

Click here to see the tax rate comparison graph.

Click here to see the cost recovery comparison graph.