I was alarmed to read that President Obama plans to remove certain deductions in the tax code for energy companies while leaving the same deduction in place for other manufacturers.

The biased nature of what is effectively a tax increase sends a terrible message to investors not only in the energy markets, but in the overall economy. And I’m sure consumers will feel the new tax when they end up paying more at the pump.

Rather than increasing taxes, the president should focus instead on leveraging the energy industry as part of the economic recovery. He has frequently highlighted the development of green technologies and other innovations, which is a good start but still decades away from actual implementation.

The real potential for growth in jobs, investment and new tax revenue is in expanding access to domestic resources.

A recent study revealed that our energy companies can add 1.2 million jobs and $2.2 million in incremental tax receipts by increasing resource production in the OCS Planning Areas. This would be a far more effective way for the government to raise funds and would help secure America’s energy security.

David Downing

Peachtree City, Ga.

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