Fracking all the way to the Bank

Chesapeake Energy paid $0 in corporate taxes on its $2.8 billion in profits

By Hugh MacMillan
FoodandWaterWatch.org


In 2010, Chesapeake Energy made a pre-tax profit of $2.8 billion, but it paid $0 in corporate income tax to the U.S. Treasury.

A recent report from the Institute for Policy Studies makes clear that Chesapeake Energy, which proclaims itself “America’s champion of natural gas,” is likewise one of America’s champions of corporate tax dodging.

The company made a whopping pre-tax profit of $2.8 billion in 2010, but it paid $0 in corporate income tax to the U.S. Treasury. At the same time, the company’s CEO, Aubrey McClendon, was given $21 million in compensation.

I emphasize given because how does one actually earn over $57,000 a day?

Aubrey McClendon has built Chesapeake Energy into the second largest natural gas producer in the United States by betting big on fracking, regardless of the environmental pollution the practice creates.

To avoid paying any corporate taxes at all, Chesapeake Energy takes advantage of the numerous corporate tax loopholes enjoyed by the oil and gas industry. In particular, Chesapeake is able to deduct “intangible” fracking expenses from its tax obligations!


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