	oil tax break ridiculed by u s house taxwriter a house taxwriter said energy secretary james herrington s outrageous plan to restore an old tax break for oil companies was both bad tax and energy policy rep pete stark a california democrat and senior house ways and means committee member said herrington s plan for a pct depletion allowance which in effect is a special pct tax deduction would cost seven billion dlrs a year he must have missed the last two years of federal tax reform by sleeping as soundly as rip van winkle stark said he said in a statement the oil industry already pays an effective lower rate of u s tax on investment pct versus aggregate corporate tax on all investment of pct according to a recent congressional research service study reuter 
