Iran War Oil Crisis Windfall Profits Tax Act

This bill, introduced on May 13, 2026 by Rep. Sherman (D-CA), is an early-stage proposal referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. It has not been marked up, passed, or introduced in the Senate — no companion exists. The bill creates a new excise tax under the Internal Revenue Code on every barrel of taxable crude oil extracted in or imported into the US, equal to 100% of the amount by which the WTI price exceeds $75/barrel, adjusted for inflation. The tax triggers when the President declares cessation of hostilities with Iran, the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, and WTI falls below $75. Until then, the tax is imposed each quarter. All revenue is rebated back to individual taxpayers. The money trail is a tax, not spending. There is no appropriation — the mechanism is a 100% surtax on windfall profits. The entire above-$75 margin flows to the government as excise tax revenue, then is rebated. Structural winners: no US oil producer is helped. Alternative energy companies are not directly assisted by this bill (no credits, no subsidies). Natural gas is not directly taxed by the bill's text, but the mechanism focuses only on crude oil. Structural losers: every major US oil producer with domestic upstream exposure — XOM, CVX, COP are the largest and most directly impacted. Refiners with import-heavy crude slates also face tax on imported barrels. The bill is in its earliest procedural stage. It requires Ways and Means passage, full House floor vote, Senate introduction and passage, and Presidential signature. With current oil prices and geopolitical tensions, this bill signals a policy undercurrent but is unlikely to reach law in the 119th Congress.